«-<l 



AN AGBICULTUliAL LIBRARY IN ONE VOLUME. 



THE 

AMERICAN FARMER'S 

HAND-BOOK; 



CONTAINING 

DIRECTIONS FOR CLEARING, DRAINING, AND FERTILIZING LAND : 

SOWING AND HARVESTING EVERY DESCRIPTION OP CROPS; 

TREATS OF THE MANAGEMENT AND BREEDING OP 

DOMESTIC ANIMALS ; DESCRIBES THE BEST MANNER 

OP MANAGING DAIRIES, PRODUCING 

HONEY. SUGAR, WINE, CIDER, 

ETC., ETC. 

TO WHICH IS ADDED 

MANY TABLES OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. 



BY 

AN ASSOCIATION OF PRACTICAL AGRICULTURISTS. 

Ke-edited, with Numerous Additions, 
By P. W. O'NEILL and H. L. WILLIAMS. 




Illustrated by nearly 4OO Engravings. 



NEW YORK: 
R. WORTHINGTON, 750 BROADWAY. 



MDCCCLXXX. 



1^9 



Ssoi 

.Ws 
18B00) 



Entered according to Act of Congress in tlie year 1880, by 

R. WORTHINGTON, 
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 






PREFACE 



TO 



THE NEW EDITION. 



The very flattering approval with which The Ameuican Far- 
mer's Hand-Book has been greeted by the agricultural community, 
has encouraged the publisher to endeavor to extend its sphere of 
usefulness, by incorporating in its pages such additional material as 
the progressive spirit of agricultural inquiry has rendered available; 
hence, the reader will find the modest book, with which, perhaps, he 
was familiar in bygone days, now assuming dimensions of a more 
dignified and imposing character. Much of the matter now pre- 
sented in this volume for the first time, and which cannot be found 
elsewhere, except in books devoted to special subjects, is of a highly 
valuable as well as important nature, well deserving the undivided 
attention and careful perusal of all who are engaged in agricultural 
pursuits; and we trust it may have the effect to arouse an interest 
in the cultivation of many plants which have as yet attracted but 
little notice. 

The radical error of the American system of farming is that, 
throughout the greater part of the country, the attention of farmers 
and planters has been almost exclusively devoted to the cultivation 
of a few staple articles, such as wheat, rye, oats, Indian corn, 

(iii) 



iv PREFACE TO THE NEW EDITION. 

cotton and tobacco ; while many very profitable branches of rural 
economy, such as green croi^s, grape gTowing, fruit raising, and 
garden truck have met with comparative neglect. This has arisen 
in part from the tendency which people in general, of all professions, 
have to faU into ruts, and pursue a certain routine simply because 
i't is routine. 

It requires some sudden shock or violent alteration to bring the 
masses into seeing the necessity of making any vital change in the 
course they have been pursuing. Within the last twenty-five years 
our country has sustained several sudden and important political and 
financial changes and convulsions that have had great and lasting 
effects upon agriculture, manufactures and commerce. California 
has shown her ability to be one of the greatest grain and fruit pro- 
ducing countries upon the face of the earth ; Texas has developed a 
capacity for raising stock and cultivating cotton and grain which has 
literally amazed even the most hopeful of her citizens ; the great 
"West pours out train after train of wheat, corn and pork in one con- 
tinuous stream. At first sight this would appear injurious, if not 
ruinous, to many of the older States, prolific as they are compared 
with most parts of the earth. But such is not the case. Fortu- 
nately almost simultaneously with these grand developments of 
agricultural richness, the manufacturing powers of the country took 
an immense stride in advance, and have created markets at the very 
doors of our farmers for every article which they can produce. 

Great improvements have been introduced in the culture of veg- 
etables and fruits. Our cattle have been so much bettered by judi- 
cious breeding that even English stock-raisers have bought bulls and 
cows from us at what seem almost incredible prices. The quality 
of our sheep has improved both in their meat-producing and wool- 
yielding. In every kind of market gardening there has also been a 
wonderful improvement. Fruits, large and small, have partaken of 
the same astonishing progress ; until now it is a common thing to see 
in any of our city markets apples and pears, plums, nectarines, grapes, 



PREFACE TO THE KEW EDITION. V 

and tlie lesser fruits, that equal and in some varieties surpass tliose 
produced in the finest fruit raising countries of the world. 

The products of our dairies not only find a ready and remunerative 
sale in our own markets, but they command a quick and profitable 
sale in countries that have been deemed beyond our comi^ctition. 

Our leading statesmen, merchants and manufacturers have taken 
a lively interest in i)romoting in every way the heathf ul progress of 
agriculture. Knowing well that in a country where that profession is 
profitably employed, fairly compensated and duly honored, not only 
does wealth accumulate, but man — the noblest product of every 
country — flourishes "erect and free." 

The many Agricultural Societies formed in the various States have 
had a very favorable influence upon the development of farming in 
all its branches, by bringing into comparison and competition almost 
every kind of grain, roots, fruits and dairy products ; as well as the 
different kinds of improved mechanical implements. 

Another great advantage springing from these societies and clubs 
is that they necessarily lead to the interchange of opinions, and a 
comparison of methods between men fully alive to the fact that there 
is no such thing as standing still in farming. The farmer's motto 
is that of New York State, "Excelsior." 

A very profitable — though somewhat remote profit — will be found 
in the preservation and propagation of our forest trees. Their judi- 
cious cultivation will prove not only a source of wealth to the 
individual cultivator, but the country at large will be im- 
mensely benefited by the growth of the forests. Vast tracts of 
country, more or less mountainous, and now scalped of the grand 
foliage which once adorned them, may at little outlay be made to 
grow many of our noble native trees, the woods of which are daily 
becoming more and more valuable for ship and housebuilding and 
for the manufacture of furniture. 

Many vegetable oils and dyestufls have been of late years much 
neglected ; their scarcity will produce a demand, and then they 



VI PKEFACE TO THE NEW EDITION. 

must then rapidly advance in price. Under the appropriate head- 
ings, the reader will find full and accurate instructions as to the 
soil and mode of culture best adajited to the oil and dye-yielding 
plants, together with a statement of their uses, and of the methods 
of extracting their valuable properties. 



.Recently, considerable attention has been directed to the introduc- 
tion of the Sorgho, or Chinese Sugar-Cane, and its congener, the 
Imphee, or African Sugar-Cane — both of which were opportunely 
discovered at the very period when, owing to a radically-defective 
system of cultivation, the exhausted plantations of Louisiana refused 
to yield their usual product of sugar. These plants have been fully 
treated of in this volume; as also the sugai'-beet, a plant of inesti- 
mable value in France, where its culture, and the manufacture of 
sugar from its roots, profitably employ immense numbers of the 
population. Cotton, tobacco, and rice have likewise been lengthily 
discussed ; and, as a vessel is now on its way to our shores with 
large quantities of tea-plants and seed, imported by the Agricultural 
Bureau of the P itent-Office, with a view to the introduction of tl\e 
culture of this plant in the United States, it has been deemed ne- 
cessary to include a description of its varieties, together with their 
mode of culture, and the process employed for manufacturing the 
leaves into the tea of commerce. The silk culture, once an object 
of ephemeral attention, and, without good reason, consigned to obli- 
vion, has also received due attention ; for it is, practically, a very 
important branch, and, within the limits of the Union, there are very 
few localities wherein silk cannot be produced with great advantage 
to the grower. Of equal importance are the instructions in regard 
to the management of vineyards, and the manufacture of wines, 
when the extent of country adapted to the growth of the grape is 
taken into consideration, together with the vast field which its culti- 



PREFACE TO THE NEW EDITION. 



vation presents for the profitable investment of surplus capital and 
labor. 



We take the liberty here to warn our farmer friends against two 
very serious and prevalent errors, which have already done much to 
retard the progress of desirable improvements in agricultural science 
— one of these is incredulity, which so obscures the perceptive 
faculties of the individual, as to prevent him from realizing the 
benefits to be derived from scientific investigation— the only solid 
basis of a really progressive agriculture ; while the other is the 
opposite extreme — over- credulity, which induces improvident ex- 
penditures for new machinery, plants, seeds, manures, etc., that 
have not been thoroughly tested by a series of careful experiments, 
and their adaptation to the particular locality clearly ascertained. 
In the case of new seeds and plants, one experiment should never be 
deemed a Sufficient test; nay, even two, three, or four will sometimes 
be too few to determine whether they can be jirofitably cultivated ; 
and in no case should the farmer abandon the cultivation of any 
plant which has been recommended by competent and scientific agri- 
culturists, until, by repeated trials on a small scale, he has satisfied 
himself that it is either unsuitcd to the soil, or cannot be grown 
with profit. 

In the Appendix will be found a collection of Tables, of great 
service to the practical agriculturist, who, by their aid, may measure 
his own land ; ascertain the weight of his cattle by merely taking 
their girth and length ; find how many plants can be raised on each 
perch and acre of ground, at definite distances; learn what are the 
best mixtures of grass-seed for sowing on different soils, whether 
for pasture, mowing, or other purposes; determine how many heaps 
of manure will be required to cover an acre of ground at different 



Vlll PREFACE TO THE NEW EDITION. 

distances, as well as the number of loads to tlie acre ; and at a glance, 
satisfy himself as to the amount of ground he can plough per day, 
with certain widths of furrow slice, and at certain rates of speed. 

In the following pages we present our readers with engravings of 
different kinds of implements used in farming. They are such as 
have been thoroughly tested and have been found to fulfill the ob- 
jects for which they were intended. 

As almost every day brings before the public the claim of some in- 
ventor who desires to introduce a new article to lessen the demand 
for manual force, or to execute work with more rapidity and per- 
fectness, we cannot in justice to them or to contemplated purchasers 
do anything but advise buyers to make personal examination, with 
the assistance of experts, before laying out money for what may 
prove little or no improvements over the time-tested implements 
they already have in use. While on this subject we may say that we 
thank Mr. A. B. Griffin, of New York, for some of the modern en- 
gravings which appear in the volume. It is not good to mutiply 
labor-saving agricultural machines without rejlection. Mr. Frank 
Wilkeson, a very able writer on Agricultural matters, recently re- 
marked : 

' ' There has been a great deal written about our labor- 
saving harvesting machinery, and most people think they are money- 
saving machines also. This is a mistake. With the single excep- 
tion of the header (and this tool cannot be used in a damp climate) 
none of them save money. They save labor, but not money. They 
enable one man to do the work of three or four men, but he does it 
at the price of four or five men's work. Instead of the money being 
Ijaid to the farm laborers of the agricultural regions, it is sent out of 
the farming districts into the manufacturing districts to pay for 
machinery and binding wire. An improved self-binding harvester 
costs S300 ; an old-fashioned cradle costs $4= ; and with equal care 
the cradle will outlast the binder. Where men are plenty the 
grain can be cut cheaper wilh a cradle than with a self-binder." 



PREFACE. 



In presenting to the American public a work on Agricttltttre and 

THE VARIOUS ArTS AND SCIENCES CONNECTED WITH ITS MORE PER- 
FECT Knowledge and Practice, we feel that we should hardly be 
satisfied with the common prize of authorial ambition, — the mere 
approval of our book by the community at large. We should be 
far better pleased, could the volume be the means of so stimulating 
scientific inquiry and advancing the noble cause of Agriculture, that 
the very work itself should soon be superseded by the improvements 
it may cause. 

It would be an easy, and by no means disagreeable task, to occupy, 
as is sometimes the practice with authors, a score of pages, or more, 
with a Preface or Introduction, elaborately demonstrating the 
importance of agriculture to mankind in the light of political econ- 
omy, and especially its vital connection with the continued advance- 
ment, in prosperity and power, of this mighty republic ; and, from 
such premises, it would not be difficult to deduce abundant facts, 
principles and suggestions, valuable, in a social and economical point 
of view, alike to the cultivator of the soil and to all other classes of 
citizens. The value of many of the more difficult arts and sciences 
may, indeed, be appropriately dwelt upon, in text-books devoted to 
their discussion, from the fact that their importance is, as yet, far 
from being generally acknowledged, or their principles adequately 
understood. But who can be so blind, in this day of light, as to 
need any studied accumulation of evidence to show the value and 
magnitude of agriculture and its kindred employments ? Argument 

{ ix ) 



X PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. 

can hardly enhance them ; eloquence, in its most select phrases, can 
no further embellish them. The earth itself is not more the foun- 
dation on which we stand, than the cultivation of the soil is the 
foundation of all national existence, all political stability, all social 
and mental progress. What government — what community — could 
be sustained, w^hat form of public or domestic happiness could be 
enjoyed, "without food, clothing and shelter ? And does not tlie 
bulk of food, clothing and shelter, come out of the eartli ? and, 
with very inconsiderable exceptions, are they not the result of 
manual toil and culture ? A few things are of spontaneous produc- 
tion, but the limits of spontaneous production are soon reached. 
Without other resources, nine tenths of the present population of the 
globe would perish before another annual revolution of the sun. 
The agriculturist, then, feeds and clothes and shelters the world. 
Further improvements in this great department of human effort 
would enable it to feed and clothe and shelter the world with more 
adequacy, with greater comfort, with a higher ornament. Advanced 
still further, other tens and hundreds of millions of beings might 
rejoice in its bounties; and human imagination cannot assign a 
limit beyond which the creative, or, at least, the sustaining power of 
agriculture cannot go, in filling the ranks and improving the races 
of mankind. The correctness of these views, however, it has been 
presumed, is the conviction of every intelligent agriculturist in this 
country; and if to this were added a due appreciation and improve- 
ment, on his part, of the means afforded him zealously to fulfil the 
duties and responsibilities of his vocation, the speedy attainment of 
comparative perfection in husbandry pursuits would no longer be 
problematical. To the realization of this end, — so earnestly to be 
desired, — these pages, it is humbly hoped, will contribute in no 
small degree. 

But, in addition to expatiating upon the political and physical 
relations of agriculture to mankind, it is not unusual for authors or 
editors of agricultural books, in order to excite, on the part of farmers 
and the community in general, an increased interest in the cause of 
agriculture, — as well as to commend their own labors to public 
favor, — to indulge in elaborate encomiums on the moral dignity of 
rural pursuits, and their adaptedness to ennoble the lives and char- 



PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. XI 

acters of those who engage in them. Such encomiums are just, and, 
in their proper place, useful and gratifying. No reflective person, 
however, whether he be a farmer or a tradesman, will need to be 
informed of the tendency of constant communion with the works and 
phenomena of nature to purify the thoughts, and thus exert a largely 
restraining influence upon the dark passions of the human soul. 
No man works more in the immediate presence of his Creator than 
the husbandman. He sees Him not only " in the cool of the day," 
but in every wraking moment; — in the purity and fragrance of the 
circumambient atmosphere, — in the untamed grandeur of Nature's 
mountains, rocks, fields, forests, and gushing waters, — in the germ- 
ination of every seed, — in the growth of every leaf and of every 
blade of grass, — by these, and numberless objects besides, is he 
impressed, not only with the power, wisdom and goodness, of Him 
who " causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herbs for the 
service of man," but with the gracious course of His providence, 
which rewards every discovery of His laws, and every act of obedi- 
ence to them. It is uttering no harsh judgment, then, when we say, 
briefly, that the man who can live and labor, surrounded by so many 
and so paJpable attestations of a beneficent and controling Powet 
above, without realizing the nearness of his relations to that Power, 
or without hymning in his heart devout ascriptions of praise and 
gratitude, is a sad example of the derangement which sometimes 
characterizes man's moral machinery. And if, with the Book of 
Nature thus unfolded so luminously before him, his feelings fail to 
be voluntarily awakened to a sense of the honorable character of hia 
employment, and of his duty to improve every means and facility 
that will enable him to become skilful and thrifty in his calling, no 
words of rhetoric, however eloquent, will be able to arouse them. 

Beyond, therefore, the simple assurance, to those into whose hands 
this work may fall, that it is the result of patient and laborious study, 
diligent investigation, and enlightened scientific experiment, con- 
firmed by careful and discriminating practice, — and that it embraces 
within its scope every important topic or subject treated of by the 
most eminent practical writers on Agricultural Economy, in all its 
ramifications, — introductory comment on the design and character 
of this volume is unnecessary. 



Xll PEEFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. 

To those for whose use and benefit it has been prepared, — the 
Agriculturist — the Market Gardener — the Dairy Farmer — 
the Fruit Grower — the Stock Raiser — the Poultry Breeder — 
the Bee Keeper — the Florist — and the Rural Architect, — 
this volume is respectfully commended, with the earnest hope that 
it will prove to them a valuable, substantial, and profitable aid. 

In the Appendix will be found a collection of Tables, of great 
service to the practical agriculturist, who, by their aid, may measure 
his own land ; ascertain the weight of his cattle by merely taking 
their girth and length ; find how many planta can be raised on each 
perch and acre of ground, at definite distances ; learn what are the 
best mixtures of grass-seed for sowing on difierent soils, whether 
for pasture, movting, or other purposes ; determine how many heaps 
of manure will be required to cover an acre of ground at difierent 
distances, as well as the number of loads to the acre; and, at a 
glance, satisfy himself as to the amount of ground he can plough 
per day, with certain widths ot furrow-slice, and at certain rates of 
speed. 




A KK'KKU SITRDUKn V.Y MK UAUK.Y, THK AMKUfOAN HOKSK TAMKR. 



" In Colt-breaking, to command obedience and insure confidence are 
the first points aimed at ; and, as snch, the importance of early handling 
must be evident. Colts are now taken ' in hand ' much earlier than 
formerly ; racing colts at a twelvemonth, and saddle colts of promise 
are now bitted and suppled at two, and are finally and fully broken and 
trained, some at three, and few later than four years old. If, however, 
the new system inducted by Mr. Rarey proves successful in breaking, 
not only a great saving of time with all horses, but much wear and tear 
of constitution with race horses will be effected." — Blaine's Encyclopaedia 
of Rural Sports, p. 287. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

SOILS:— THEIR NATURE AND TREATMENT. 

PAoa 

Ihe Composition of Soils — Their Classification — Analysis — Relation between 

the Soil and Subsoil — Means of increasing their Productive Powers, and 
rendering them fit for Cultivation, viz. — Altering the proportion of their 
Ingredients — Clearing — Ploughing — Harrowing — Rolling — Manuring — 
Draining — Irrigating — Rotation of Crops 23 

CHAPTER II. 

THE HEAVY OR FIELD CROPS. 

Wheat — Barley — Rye — The Oat — Indian Corn — Buckwheat — The Potato 
— Sweet Potato — Sugar-Beet — Sugar-Cane — Chinese Sugar-Cane — 
African Sugar-Cane — Cotton — Tobacco — Rice — Tea — Broom-Corn — 
Millet — Hemp — Flax — Lucern — Sainfoin — The Tare — Clover — The 
Grasses — Motive Powers for Farm Purposes 69 



CHAPTER III. 

PLANTS CULTIVATED FOR THEIR USES IN THE ARTS, AND FOB 
THEIR OILS. 

Indigo — Madder — Weld — Woad — Tuimeric — Sumach — Bastard SafTron — 

Teasel — Colza — Rape — Sun-Flower — Castor-Oil Plant 16<l 

2 (zui) 



XIV CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER IV. 

THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 

Vegetables : — Artichoke — Asparagus — Borage — Bean — Beet — Borecole — 
Broccoli — Cabbage — Cardoon — Carrot — Cauliflower — Celery — Chive — 
Corn — Corn-salad — Cress — Cucumber — Dandelion — Egg-plant — Endive 

— Garlic — Hop — Horse-radish — Leek — Lettuce — Morel — Mushroom — 
Mustard — Onion — Okra — Parsnip — Pea — Pepper — Pumpkin — Radish 

— Rape (edible-rooted) — Rhubarb — Salsify — Scorzonera — Sea-kale — 
Shallot — Skirret — Spinach — Squash — Tomato — Turnip. Herbs, etc.: 

— Anise — Balm — Basil — Caraway — Camomile — Coriander — Chervil — 
Dill — Fennel — Foxglove — Horehound — Hyssop — Lavender — Liquorice 

— Marjoram — Mint — Parsley — Pennyroyal — Peppermint — Purslane — 
Rosemary — Rue — Saffron — Sage — Savory — Tansy — Thyme : — With a 
Monthly Calendar of Operations 184 

CHAPTER V. 

THE DAIRY. 

Dairy Implements — Management — Milk — Butter-making — Cheese-making 

— Including all the most celebrated and esteemed Modes 220 

CHAPTER VI. 

FRUITS, FRUIT-TREES, VINES, ETC. 

Standard Kinds: — Apple (including Cider Making) — Apricot — Barberry 

— Blackberry — Cherry — Cranberry — Currant — Gooseberry — Grape 
(including Vineyards and Manufacture of Wine) — Medlar — Melon — 
Mulberry — Nectarine — Peach — Pear — Plum — Quince — Raspberry — 
Strawberry. Miscellaneous Kinds : — Almond — Blueberry — Butternut 

— Chestnut — Fig — Filbert — Lemon — Lime — Olive — Orange — Pome- 
granate — Sheilbark — Walnut — Whortleberry — With a Monthly Calendar 

of Operations 250 



CONTENTS. XV 

CHAPTER VII. 

DOMESTIC OR FARM ANIMALS. • 

The Rearing, Breeding, Diseases, and General Care of — The Bull — The 
Ox— The Cow— Sheep — Swine — The Horse- The Ass— The Mule— The 
Goat — The Dog, — in all their Standard Varieties — With a Monthly 
Calendar of Operations 317 

CHAPTER VIII. 

POULTRY, OR THE VARIOUS DOMESTIC FOWLS. 

The Raising, Breeding, Diseases, and Treatment of the common Barn Fowls: 

— Caponizing — also The Turkey — The Goose — The Duck — in all their 
important Varieties 387 

CHAPTER IX. 

BEES AND SILK-WORMS. 

Different Classes of Bees — Position of the Apiary — Hives and Boxes — 
Obtaining Stock — Swarming — The Honey Harvest — Management during 
Winter and Early Spring — How to treat the Produce of the Honey 
Harvest — The Enemies and Diseases of Bees: — Silk-worms and Mulberry 
Trees 418 

CHAPTER X. 

FLOWERS, ORNAMENTAL AND USEFUL TREES, ETC. 

The Culture of Flowers — Plans for Flower-Gardens — Description of Standard 
Varieties of Flowers — Ornamental Shrubs — Ornamental and Useful Trees 

— With a Monthly Floricultural Calendar 465 

CHAPTER XI. 

RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 

The Construction of Farm Dwellings and Cottages — Dairies — Barns — 
Stables — Cart-Sheds and Implement-Houses — Granaries — Cattle-Sheds — 
Ice-Houses — Sheep-Folds — Piggeries — Poultry-Houses — Arrangement 
of the Farmery — Green-Houses — Fences and Gates — Hedges 513 



ZVl CONTENTS. 

, CHAPTER XII. 

HORTICULTURAL SCIENTIFIC OPERATIONS. 
The Improved Modes of Grafting — Budding — Pruning — Training 564 

CHAPTER XIII. 

THE GREAT DISEASES OF PLANTS. 

Blight or Blast — Canker or Caries — Consumption — Contortion — .Dropsy — 
Ergot — Honey -Dew — Curl — Mildew — Potato Rot — Smut — Cotton Rot 
— Cotton Rust— Cotton Blight— Sore-Shin 599 

CHAPTER XIV. 

NOXIOUS INSECTS AND ANIMALS. 

Insects which live constantly on or in Domestic Animals, and propagate 
on them — Insects which injure Grain — Insects injurious to Culinary 
Vegetables — Insects injurious to Fruits, Fruit-Trees, Shrubs, and Vines — 
Insects injurious to Flower-Plants — Insects injurious to Meadows — 
Insects injurious to the Cotton Plant — Animals injurious to Cultivated 
Fields 636 



APPENDIX, 

Containing Tables, by the use of which a Farmer may be greatly assisted in 
his Calculations 683 



Definitions op AVords, — Scientific, Technical, and Peculiab, — coK- 

MCNLY USED IN CONNECTION WITH AGRICULTURAL JlND KINDEED SUBJECTS.. 693 

Index „ 690 



CLASSIFIED LIST OF ENGRAVINGS. 



AGRICULTURAL OPERATIONS 

PAQE 



no. 

4. Root-grubber — mode of ope- 

riiting 28 

6. Stump Extractor — mode of ope- 
rating 30 

10. European Dirt-shovel — mode of 

operating 33 

12. Appearance of badly-ploughed 

Laud 36 

13. Ploughing with Double Team... 37 

15. Diagram of Ridge-ploughing ... 39 

16. " " " ... 40 

17. Transverse Section of Ridge- 

ploughing «. 41 

IS. Illustration of Casting, in plough- 
ing 41 

19. Illustration of Casting, in plough- 

ing 42 

20. Illustration of Cleaving, in 

ploughing 42 

21. Diagram of Cross-ploughing.... 43 
29. Earths and Springs 58 



FIG. PACT 

30. Draining Peat Lands 59 

;;]. " " " 59 

32. Draining Clay Lands 61 

35. Meadow Watering 64 

36. Catch-work Irrigation 65 

40. Mowing Machine — mode of 

operating 74 

50. Hand Corn-planter — mode of 

operating 88 

56. Transverse Section of Potato- 

drills 97 

57. Transverse Section of Potato- 

drills 98 

86. Grass Seed Sower — mode of 

operating 155 

89. Delano's Horse Hay-Rake — 

mode of operating 158 

93. Horse Power — operation of.... 164 
98. Modes of supporting Running 

Plants 187 

105. Turnip culture 208 



GRAINS, GRASSES, VEGETABLES, HERBS, ETC. 



87. Different kinds of Wheat 70 

38. Classification of Wheat by the 

grains 70 

42. Classification of Barley by the 

grains 76 

43. Different kinds of Barley 77 

2* 



45. The Rye plant 79 

47. Different kinds of Oats 82 

49. The Indian corn plant 85 

55. " Buckwheat " 93 

58. " Sugar-cane " 104 

60. " Chinese Sugar-cane plant, 110 

i (xvii) 



XVI u 



CLASSIFIED LIST OF ENGRAVINGS. 



62. 
65. 
66. 
68. 

70. 
71. 

72. 
74 
75. 
76. 
77. 
78. 
79. 

80. 

81. 

82. 



120. 
121. 

122. 
123. 
124. 
125. 
126. 
127. 
12S. 
129. 
130. 
131. 
132. 

133. 
134. 
135. 
136. 
137. 
139. 
140. 
141. 
142. 
143. 
144. 



The Cotton plant 116 



Tobacco 

Rice 

Tea 

Millet 

Hemp 

Flax 

Lucern 

Sainfoin 

Tare 



122 
128 
130 
135 
137 
140 
143 
145 
146 



Different kinds of Clover 147 

Meadow or Green Grass 149 

Timothy, Cat's Tail, or Herd 

Grass 150 

Orchard Grass, or Cock's Foot 

Grass 150 

Meadow Fescue Grass 151 

Ray or Rye " 161 



FRUITS. 



Early Harvest Apple 251 

Red Astrachan " 252 

Williams's Favorite Apple 252 

Juneating " 253 

Summer Queen " 253 

Maiden's Blush " 254 

Gravenstein " 255 

Rambo " 255 

Yellow Bellflower " 256 

Esopus Spitzenberg " 257 

Baldwin " 257 

Hubbardston Nonsuch " 258 

Westfield Seek-no-further Ap- 
ple 259 

Roxbury Russet Apple 259 

Golden Pippin " 260 

Lady " 260 

Harrison " 261 

Red Siberian Crab Apple 262 

Early Apricot 262 

Peach " 265 

Brussels " 265 

The Barberry 266 

The Blackberry 267 

Black-heart Cherry 268 



8.3. Herd, or Fowl Meadpw Grass... 152 

84. Sweet-scented Vernal Grass ... 152 

85. Pony Grass 152 

95. The Indigo plant 166 

96. Bastard Saffron 175 

97. The Castor-oil plant 181 

99. Hop plants, male and female... 196 

100. The Morel plant 200 

101. The Mushroom plant 200 

102. Varieties of the Mustard plant, 201 

103. The Pea plant 203 

104. " Rhubarb plant 205 

107. " Caraway " 210 

108. " Coriander " 211 

109. " Lavender " 212 

110. " Liquorice " 213 

111. " Parsley " 214 

112. " Saffron " 215 

145. American Amber Cherry 268 

146. Downer's Late Cherry 269 

147. Early White-heart Cherry 269 

148. The Cranberry 270 

150. AVhite Currant 272 

151. Black " 273 

152. Melling's Crown-bob Goose- 

berry 275 

153. Houghton's Seedling Goose- 

berry , 275 

154. Black Hamburgh Grape 277 

155. Muscat of Alexandria (red and 

white) Grape 277 

•156. Catawba Grape 278 

157. Isabella " 278 

158. Section of a bearing Vine 279 

159. The Melon 284 

160. The Mulberry 285 

161. Jaune Lisse Nectarine 286 

162. Musk Violet " 286 

163. Gros Mignonne Peach 288 

164. Alberge " 288 

165. Red Magdalen " 289 

166. Late Heath " 290 

167. BartlettPear 292 



CLASSIFIKD LIST OF ENGRAVINGS. 



XIS 



168. Winter Nelis Pear 29.3 

109. Seokel " 293 

170. Beurre Bosc " 294 

171. Muscadine " 295 

172. Jefferson Plum 297 

173. Green Gage" 297 

174. Purple Favorite Plum 298 

175. Bleecker's Gage " 299 

176. Duane's Purple " 299 

177. Frost Gage " 300 

178. Apple-shaped Quince 302 

179. Fastolff Raspberry 303 



180. Franconia Raspberry 304 

181. Large Early Scarlet Strawberry, 306 

182. Hovey's Seedling 307 

183. Swainstone's " " 308 

184. Ross Phoenix " 308 

185. Prolific Hautbois " 30G 

186. Gushing " 309 

187. The Fig 310 

188. " Lemon 311 

189. " Lime 312 

190. " Olive. 312 

191. " Orange 313 



DOMESTIC OR FARM ANIMALS. 



194. Explanatory Skeleton of the Ox, 323 

195. Prize Dairy Native Cow 

325 

196. Devon Bull 326 

197. " Ox 327 

198. " " 328 

200. " Cow 329 

201. Short-horned Bull 330 

202. " Cow 331 

203. Hereford Cow 332 

204. Ayrshire Bull 333 

205. " Cow 333 

206. New Leicester Cow 334 

208. New Leicester Sheep 343 

209. Cotswold Sheep 346 

210. South-Down Ewe and Lamb... 347 



211. Black-faced or Heath Sheep ... 348 

212. Merino Sheep 348 

213. Explanatory Skeleton of Pig... 351 

214. China Hog 353 

215. Berkshire Hog 354 

216. Suffolk " 354 

217. Siamese Sow and Litter 355 

218. Explanatory Figure of Horse .. 358 

219. Arabian Horse 359 

220. American Race Horse 360 

221. " Road " 360 

222. Norman (European) Horse 361 

223. Thibet Goat 364 

224. Newfoundland Dog 366 

225. Shepherd's " 366 

226. Terrier " 367 



DOMESTIC FOWLS. 



227. Shajighai 387 

228. BankivaCock 388 

229. Dorking Fowls 389 

230. Jago or Spanish Fowls 390 

231. Crested or Poland " 391 

232. Bantam Cock 391 

233. Ostrich or Cochin-China Hen ... 392 



234. Ostrich or Co'n-China Rooster, 393 

235. Turkey 398 

236. Toulouse Goose 401 

237. Common " 402 

238. Rouen or Rhone Duck 407 

239. English or Aylesbury Duck .... 407 

240. Muscovy Ducks 403 



XX 



CLASSIFIED LIST OF ENGRAVINGS. 



RURAL STRUCTURES, MECHANICAL OPERATIONS, ETC. 

Tudor Cottage 519 

Model of double Cottage Struc- 
ture 619 

Ground-plan of double Cottage 

Structure 520 

Upper floor of double Cottage 

Structure 520 

Moderate-sized Cottage 521 

Plan of Dairy Apartments 522 

Model of Complete Dairy 624 

Ground-floorof Complete Dairy, 625 
Side Elevation of " " 625 

Upper floor " " " 626 

Model of AVashington Barn 628 

Model of Duel's Barn 529 

End and Side View of Buel's 

Barn 630 

Arrangement of Cattle-shed ... 634 
. Apartment and Apparatus for 

Boiling Food 539 

Pig-house 641 

Improved Nest for Hens 646 

Plan of Buildings for a large 

Farm 648 

Plan of Buildings for a small 

Farm 549 

. Cellular Wall-work for Green- 
house 651 

Mode of building Stone Wall... 554 
•' " " Gates , 565 



33. 


Different kinds of Drains 




62 


301. 


246. 


Flower-pot Hive 




430 


302. 


?47 






431 
432 
432 
433 




?.|.S 






303. 


•JIO 








250. 


Construction of Gihnore's 


Hive, 


304. 


251. 


<( « n 


<( 


434 




252. 


Back-side of " 


« 


435 


305. 


253. 


Boxes in Gilmore's Hive. 




435 


306. 


254. 


Arrangement of Gilmore's 


Hive, 


436 


307. 


255. 


It 11 It 


" 


437 


308. 


256. 


It « « 


" 


438 


309. 


274. 


Arbor for a Garden 




485 


310. 


275. 


Garden Seat 




485 


311. 


276. 


Fountain for a Garden ... 




486 


312. 


277. 


Sun-dial " " " 




487 


313. 


291. 


Ground-plan of Farm-house ... 


513 




292. 


" " one-story 


house 


514 


315. 


293. 


Model of Medium-sized 


" 


515 


316 


294. 


Ground-plan of " 


" 


515 




295. 


Side Elevation of Medium-sizec 




317. 




House 




515 


318 


296. 


Upper Floor of Mediuu: 
House 


-sized 


516 
516 


319. 


297. 


Model of large Farm-house.... 


320 


298. 


Side Elevation of large 


Farm- 








house 




517 


321 


299 


Ground-plan of large 


Farm- 








house ..-. 




517 


322 


300 


Upper floor of large Farm- 


house, 


518 


323 



264. 
268. 
269. 
270. 
271. 
272. 
273. 
330. 
331. 
332. 
842. 



HORTICULTURAL AND 

Plan for Flower-garden 

It It ti 

« (( 11 

(> « « 

II II It 

It II II 

Weeping-willow Arbor , 

The processes of Grafting 

Grnfting the Vine , 

The processes of Budding 

Training Grape-vine in a Pot. 



FLORICULTURAL OPERATIONS. 



468 
471 
472 
472 
472 
473 
484 
568 
570 
575 
588 



343. Balloon-training of the Rose... 689 

344. Spiral-cylinder Training 592 

346. Spurring-in Training 593 

346. Conical or Quenouille Training, 593 

347. Fan Training, in its first stage, 694 

348. Fan Training, in its advanced 

stage 595 

349. Horizontal Training, in its first 

stage 596 

350. Horizontal Training, in its ad- 

vanced stage 598 



CLASSIFIED LIST OF ENGRAVINGS. 



XZl 



TREES, FLOWERS, HEDGE-PLANTS, ETC. 



26{/. Morus Alba, or the White Mul- 
berry 461 

261. Murus Multicaulis 461 

280. Narcissus 493 

2S1. Passion Flower 493 

282. Rose 495 



287. Magnolia Grandiflora 504 327. Cactus Opuntia 



288. European Silver Fir 505 

289. Evergreen Cypress 505 

290. Norway Spruce Fir 506 

324. Osage Orange Hedge 557 

325. Honey Locust ,. 558 

326. Cactus Tuna 560 



560 



FARMING IMPLEMENTS, MACHINES, UTENSILS, ETC. 



Rounded Shovel 27 

Square Shovel 27 

Spade 27 

Root-puller 29 

Bramble-hook 32 

Paring Plough 32 

Dirt-scraper, or Ground-leveler, 33 
Premium Plough, Eagle No. 1, 34 
Premium Plough, with Lock- 
coulter, Wheel, and Draft-rod, 37 

Premium Subsoil Plough 43 

Scotch Harrow 46 

Geddes Harrow 47 

Field Roller 48 

Large Six-pronged Manure Fork 51 

Small-sized " " 61 

Improved ExpandingCultivator 52 

Machine for Irrigating 63 

Horse-drill 73 

Fan-mill for Cleaning Grain ... 75 

Hummelling Machine 78 

Machine for Cleaning Smutty 

Grain, <fec 81 

Grain Cradle 84 

Universal Cultivator 90 

Corn- cracker 91 

Reading's Corn-sheller 92 

Corn and Cob-crusher 92 

Sugar-cane Knife 106 

Cane-crusher 113 

Cotton Harrow 118 

Eagle Cotton-gin 121 

Rice-huller and polisher 130 

Broom-corn Scraper 134 



73. Rippling Machine for Flax 142 

87. Scythe 156 

88. Hay Elevator 157 

90. Revolving Horse Hay-rake 159 

91. Dederick's Hay-press 160 

92. AVebb's Wind-mill 163 

94. Patent Portable Grist-mill 165 

106. Vegetable Cutter 209 

113. Cheese-press 221 

114. Self-acting Press 221 

115. Thermometer Churn 222 

116. Cylindrical Churn 223 

117. Gault's Churn 223 

118. Fruit Gatherer 250 

119. " " 251 

138. Hicock's Cider-mill 263 

149.. Cranberry Rake 271 

192. Ox-chain and Bull-ring 317 

193. Hay and Straw-cuttCF 321 

199. Ox-yoke 328 

207. Lactometer 337 

259. Instrument for fumigating Bee- 
hives 446 

262. Garden Rake 465 

263. " Syringe 466 

265. " Roller 468 

266. Grass-edge Parer 469 

267. Garden Trowel 469 

278. Grass-edging Shears 488 

279. Ladies' Garden Shears 4S8 

283. Scissors for Cutting Flowers ... 496 

284. Machine for Watering Gardeas, 498 

285. Briar or Bill-hook 499 

286. Pruning Shears 499 



xxu 



CLASSIFIED LIST OF ENGRAVINGS. 



314. Improved Barn-door Rollers ... 530 

328. Hedge Shears 562 

329. Grafting Chisel 565 

333. Pruning Chisel 577 

334. " Scissors 578 

335. " Knife 578 



336. Pruning Knife (different form), 578 

337. Budding Knife 578 

338. Small Pruning Knife 578 

339. Pole-pruning Shears 679 

340. Lopping or Branch Shears 581 

341. Sliding Pruning Shears 681 



BEES AND OTHER INSECTS. AND THEIR OPERATIONS. 



241. Queen Bee 416 

242. Drone " 417 

243. Working Bee 417 

244. Form of the Bee's Sting 419 

245. Operations of Bees in the Cells, 420 
267. Comh, or Hexagonal Cells, of 

Bees 439 

258. Swarming of Bees 442 

351. Horse Bot-fly and Larva 637 

352. Wire-worm, Larva, and anato- 

my 641 

353. Hessian Fly and its operations, 643 



354. Wheat Midge, Larva, and ope- 

rations 644 

355. Cabbnge Moth and Caterpillar, 647 

366. Onion Fly, Larva, &c 649 

357. Black-veined White Butterfly.. 650 
368. -Winter Moth 655 

359. Apple Weevil 660 

360. Pear " 660 

361. Pear Chermes 664 

362. Plant-louse or AphJa 665 

363. Vine Scale Insect 668 

364. Locust 674 



CHAPTER I. 

SOILS: THEIR NATURE AND TREATMENT. 

THE COMPOSITION OF SOILS THEIR CLASSIFICATION — ANALYSIS — RELATION 

BETWEEN THE SOIL AND SUBSOIL — MEANS OP INCREASING THEIR PRODUCT- 
IVE POWERS, AND RENDERING THEM FIT FOR CULTIVATION, VIZ., — ALTER- 
ING THE PROPORTION OP THEIR INGREDIENTS — CLEARING — PLOUGHING — 

HARROWING — ROLLING — MANURING DRAINING — IRRIGATING ROTATION 

OF CROPS. 

GENERAL REMARKS. 

Nothing is more true than the fact, that, from the vague manner in which 
soils are usually described by writers assuming to instruct those who cul- 
tiv.'ite the soil, it is often difficult for a farmer, who reads accounts of agri- 
cultural operations in any other section of tlie country than that in which he 
resides, to judge what relation the soil which is the scene of such oper- 
ations bears to that which he himself cultivates. A certain acquaintance 
with a few of the plain principles and laws of chemistry in connection with 
the con>position of soils is, therefore, very desirable ; for it is only in the 
accuracy in which soils are described, and their composition and character 
ascertained and understood, that a knowledge of the best methods of remedy- 
ing their defects, and improving them by the application of different matters, 
can be acquired. It will be consistent, then, with the design of our work, 
to give some account, in the first place, of the 

I. COMPOSITION OF SOILS. 

Though various in fertility and texture, air soils are resolvable into the 
same constituent parts. They consist of earthy and organic matters in a 
state of combination. What is commonly called earth may be considered 
in two points of view, either as mixed or unmixed with animal and vegeta- 
ble remains. As originally produced from the crumbling or decomposition 
of rocks, earth is, of course, destitute of any of these matters; but they very 
soon enter into its composition, and exist in a considerable proportion in all 
soils not completely barren. 

The principal mineral substances which enter into the composition of 
rocks and soils are silica, — found in quartz, flint, and sand; alumina, — a 
leading ingredient in the composition of clays, giving them thnt softness. 

(23) 



24 farmer's hand-book. 

plasticity, and adhesiveness, for which they are distinguished ; lime, — con- 
stituting the numerous varieties of limestone, marl, chalk, and marble ; 
magnesia, — existing in various states of combination with acids and othei 
earths, and is found in various mineral springs. Thus, where silica prevails, 
as in the case of many sands, the earth may be called silicious ; where clay 
prevails, the soil may be called aluminous; where lime exists in quantity, 
as in the case of chalk, the soil is calcareous ; and where magnesia prevails 
to such an extent as to impart its distinctive nature to the soil, it may be 
called magnesian. Besides these, there is the oxide of iron, forming a 
constituent part of soils, though its influence on their productive powers has 
not been definitely ascertained 

II. CLASSIFICATION OF SOILS. 

Having spoken of the ingredients in soils, we will now classify them 
according to their peculiar properties and the kinds of crops they are 
severally best adapted to produce. The grand divisions are as follows : — 

Clayey Soils. — These are distinguished for the adhesion of their parts, 
and the retention of moisture. Farm lands of this description, — the richer 
clays, we mean, — generally produce crops of great abundance and of 
superior quality, but at extra cost. Much attention is necessary to the choice 
of suitable seasons for conducting the operations of tillage on these soils : 
if too dry, it turns up in hard masses, difficult of being made fine enough for 
sowing ; and if too wet, it is worked into mortar, and cannot be reduced by 
the harrow. At the first ploughing, the clay comes up in large clods ; but 
the oflener it is acted upon by the implements of tillage at the proper time, 
the more is its cohesion broken, and the more easily can the roots of plants 
penetrate. They must be worked when the clods can be crushed by tW 
roller. 

Sandy Soils. — These are distinguished by their small degree of adhesive- 
ness ; and, with the aid of manures and consolidating substances, to counter- 
act their poverty and their susceptibility to drought, no land pays better fo 
improvement. The richer class of sands is fitted for the production of every 
kind of herbage and grain, bulbous and tuberous rooted plants. 

Gravelly Soils. — Between the gravelly and sandy soils there is a close 
resemblance, both containing a large portion of undecomposed rocky matter. 
The loose texture of gravelly soils renders them unfit for the production of 
wheat and beans, but they are admirably adapted to barley and oats. 

Peaty Soils. — While other soils consist, primarily, of the worn-off 
portions of rocks, combined with various animal and vegetable matters, it is 
otherwise with the peat soils. The matter comprising the soils of this claw 
varies exceedingly, but in all cases it retains the general characteristics of 



SOILS : THEIR NATURE AND TREATMENT. 25 

Its origin, from the quantify of the stems and other parts of plants which it 
contains, either entire, or in a partial state of decay. At the surface, it may 
be fibrous, and of a brownish-gray color ; and lower, it may be friable, of a 
light-brown color, and with few fibres. Still lower, it may be compact, of 
a deep-brown color. Wherever wood, stems, or grass of any kind, goes to 
waste, or falls down and is decomposed, its remains are changed into moss, 
if the necessary degree of humidity be present ; and, a certain temperature 
being essential in producing this change, it is only in the cold and temperate 
parts of the earth that peat is formed. 

Loam Soils. — Under this denomination is included that kind of soil which 
appears to be an intimate mixture of all the others. It is friable in its com- 
position, and neither liable to be parched in summer, nor drenched and chilled 
with surface water in winter. It is suitable for every kind of crop, and 
every system of husbandry. 

III. — ANALYSIS OF SOILS. 

The constituent earths beino; frequently, not only mixed together in an 
fnterminable variety of proportions, but also interspersed with vegetable 
Rnd animal debris, an analysis of the soil is the only certain and reliable 
mode by which the farmer can ascertain the presence, and amount, of 
the different ingredients composing the land which he has, or is about to 
put under cultivation. The following is the most simple process by 
which a separation and measurement of different earths may be effected: 

Fit a cork into one end of a glass tube, three feet long and three-fourths 
of an inch in diameter; then half fill it with clear water, and pour into 
it a similar quantity of water in which has been mixed as much of the 
soil to be examined, as will fill about six inches of the tube. Place the 
tube in a vertical position, and let it stand for about one hour. An ex- 
amination will then show the earths deposited in the order of sand, clay, 
and humus; and the proportion of the latter will indicate the quality of 
the soil. 

IV. RELATION BETWEEN THE SOIL AND SUBSOIL. 

Clayey Subsoil. — The value of the soil for agricultural purposes is 

affected, in a great degree, by the nature of the subsoil upon which it lies 

A retentive, clayey subsoil is in general highly injurious to vegetation ; for, 

where the soil rests on a subsoil of this quality, it is constantly soaked with 

water, and is tilled with difliculty. The retention of an undue quantity of 

moisture diminishes the beneficial action of the manures which have been 

applied to the land, and the crops on such soils make but little progress. 

Hence, their grain is of inferior quality, and, when in grass, their herl ige 

is coarse. 

o 



26 farmer's hand-book 

Porous Subsoil. — A porous subsoil absorbs all superfluous moisture. 
Below clay, and the different varieties of loam, an open subsoil is particu- 
larly desirable. It is favorable to all the operations of husbandry ; it tends 
to correct any undue absorbent power in the soil above ; and it promotes the 
Deneficial action of manures, contributes to the growth and preservation of 
seeds in the soil, and insures the future prosperity of the plants. Hence it 
is that a thinner soil, with a favorable subsoil, will produce better crops than 
a deeper one, resting on wet clay, or on cold or non-absorbent rock. 

Quality of Subsoil. — But not only is the soil affected by the depth and 
texture of the subsoil, but by its quality. There are cases when, from 
natural revolutions, that which is properly the soil forms the lower stratum 
or layer, as, for instance, where the original surface has been covered by the 
sand ; but, in general, the lower stratum is far less suited to the nourishment 
of plants, and in many cases contains matter which, if too abundant, is 
greatly injurious to vegetation. 

Depth of the Soil. — Whether the subsoil be retentive or porous, the soil 
which rests upon it should be of good depth ; and in proportion to that depth 
will it be affected by the nature of the subsoil. If a retentive subsoil is 
placed very near the surface, not only is the soil too shallow for the purposes 
of vegetation, but it is too easily affected by the alternations of dryness and 
moisture ; and if, again, a porous subsoil be very near the surface, the roots 
of the plants, as in the other case, not only have not sufficient space to 
extend themselves, but the moisture of the soil is too easily exhausted by 
heat, to the injury of vegetation. 

V. MEANS OF INCREASING THE PRODUCTIVE POWERS OF SOILS, 

AND RENDERING THEM FIT FOR CULTIVATION.. 

Having now explained the composition, varieties, and qualities ot soils, and 
the connection between them and the subsoil, or lower strata, we shall pro- 
ceed to point out the various means which it is necessary for the farmer to 
use, in order to maintain and increase their fertility, and render them fit for 
the grand purpose of cultivation. These grand means are as follows : — 

1. Altering the Proportion of the Different Ingredients in the 
Soil. — This is done by ascertaining the composition of the soil, and then 
adding to, or subtracting from, the ingredients in which it is deficient, or 
with which it superabounds. If a sterile soil is found to contain any of the 
salts of iron, or any acid matter, it may be ameliorated by applying quick- 
lime. A soil of good apparent texture, containing sulphate of iron, will be 
sterile ; but this may be remedied by a top-dressing with lime, which converts 
the sulphate into manure. If there be an excess of limy matter in the soil 
it may be improved by the application of sand or clay. Soils too abundant 



SOILS : THEIR NATURE AND TREATMENT. 



27 



!n sand are benefited by a dressing of clay, marl, or vegetable matter. Light 
Bands are improved by using peat, and peats by a dressing of sand ; though 
the former is in its nature only a temporary improvement. When peats are 
acid, or contain iron, limy matter is necessary in bringing them into cultiva- 
tion. The best natural soils are those of which the materials have been 
derived from different strata or layers of the earth, which have been minutely 
divided by air and water, and are intimately blended together ; and, in im- 
proving soils artificially, the cultivator cannot do better than imitate the 
processes of nature. To do this, the necessary materials are seldom far 
distant; coarse sand is often near by, and beds of sand and gravel are 
common below clay. The labor of improving the texture or constitution of 
the soil, by thus changing the character of its ingredients, is repaid by a 
great and permanent advantage, — less manure is required, and its fertility 
and productiveness insured. 

2. Clearing. — It is seldom that the operation of altering the proportion 
of the different ingredients of the soil can be performed to any extent until 
after it has been cleared ; nevertheless, we have chosen this arrangement of 



Fig. 1. 



Fig. 2. 



Fig. 3. 



our subject, believing it to be the one best adapted to promote the end which 
we have in view, namely, a plain and intelligible presentation of principles^ 
facts, and modes • 



28 



farmer's hand-book. 



That the chief part of waste and uncultivated lands might be turned to 
advantage, is undoubtedly true. Land covered with furz ; the soil of 
ancient forests, overrun with this plant, or covered by stagnant water ; those 
moving sands, which are often carried from place to place, in some sectiona 
of the country, by the wind ; neglected tracts, which yield nothing at all, 
or, at most, but a scanty return ; in short, almost all kinds of land are sus- 
ceptible of some kind of tillage, and capable of yielding certain varieties 
of produce. But operations of this nature are not always attended with 
profit, the land often costing as much, or more, in the end, as it would 
have been necessary to give for such as was already in a state of cultivation. 

Definite Plan of Operations. — The first thing to be done is carefully to 
determine on the manner in which the land about to be cleared can best be 
turned to account ; then to lay down a plan of operation, drawn up with due 
regard to the nature of the soil and the ends proposed to be derived from it; 
and, finally, to precisely and perseveringly adhere to such plan. It is im- 
portant that the improvement of the land should be commenced at that part 
which is most capable of being converted into meadow or pasture ground, 
even though it should be determined to submit this land to the plough at 
some future period ; by so doing, a supply of manure will be insured, and 
the fertility of those portions of land afterwards cleared will be increased. 

Clearing Forests. — It is upon the soil of forests that operations of thia 
nature are usually performed, and it is upon such soils that they are attended 

r 

Fi-. 4. 




with the greatest advantages and success, both as regards the person by 
whom they are undertaken, and society in general. The soil of forest land 



SOILS : THEIR NATURE AND TREATMENT. 



29 



generally contains a sufficient quantity of nutritious matter to enable it 
to produce both crops of fodder and of corn, even without being manured 
with dung; and, consequently, will yield an immediate return for the 
expenses of clearing, without being exhausted by so doing. 

The extirpation of trees and bushes often requires a great deal of labor; 
and, to do it more easily, several machines have been invented. Useless 
shrubs are readily cut down, and serve for fuel. Their roots are seldom 
difficult to grub up ; a simple and very powerful instrument for this pur- 
pose is a very strong iron three-pronged fork, the prongs twenty inches 
long, and a strong handle, twenty feet long, fixed firmly into it, to the 
end of which a rope is fastened ; this is driven slantwise under the roots, 
and, by means of a log as a fulcrum, it forms a lever when pulled down 
by the ropes. Figure 4 represents this instrument ; and the succeeding 
cut is that of an implement now much used for the same purpose, the 
claws being attached to the bush close to the ground, and, by means of 
cattle fastened to it by a chain, the bushes or roots are easily drawn. 

Fisr. 5. 




Trees, however, must be grubbed up by the roots, and old stumps must 
be taken out of the ground entirely, before the land can be brought into 
a proper condition for profitable tillage. This has always heretofore been 
a work of toil and difiiculty ; but a good invention, wliicli is a very simple 
application of lever-power, has so much facilitated this operation, that a 
piece of ground may now be cleared of trees and stumps with as little 
trouble, and less exertion, than was formerly required for the eradication 
of small bushes. The machine by which this is effected (Willis's Stump 
Extractor), is represented as very effective. 

Clearing Waste Lands. — Next to the soil of forests, waste lands and 
common pasturages most generally require to be cleared. Land of this 
description is usually in a very disordered condition, the surface being 
not only rugged and uneven, but frequently covered with stumps of 
trees, bushes, &c. After disposing of these, plough with a broad sharp 
share. After some time, a strong harrow should be used, 
3* 



30 



fakmer's hakd-book. 



Fig. 6. 




THE KIRBY MOWER. 

We give this to the reader, as a specimen of one of tlie many dozen 
labor-saving implements of tlie day. It is said to be an excellent article 
of its kind, and worthy of tlie attention and scrutiny of would-be pur. 
chasers. 



SOILS THEIK NATTJKE AND TKEATMENT. 31 




THE MOHAWK VALLEY CLIPPEE STEEL PLOW. 




AUTOMATIC IRON BEAM REVERSIBLE, OR SWIVEL PLOW. 

It may not be amiss before going into further details to call attention 
to the fact that there are very many plows offered for sale, of more or 
less excellence. We shall not advocate the claims of any of them, 
but merely give one or two pictures of the most advanced and improved 
kinds. Every farmer must use his senses and judge from his own ex- 
perience or that of his neighbors which are the best articles, not merely 
on general theoretic principles, but on practical grounds, and adapta- 
bility to the particular soil or crops he desires to use a plow for. 



32 farmer's hand-book. 

Additional about Clearing Waste Lands. — The litter of boughs, 
twigs, bramliles, and sucli waste, stuff must be carefully heaped to- 
gether. Then the soil will be found partly covered with tangled roots 

Fig. 7. 




and fibres, and these must be burned. A bramble-hook, like that above, is 
also frequently used in cutting brush or brambles. 

Paring and Burning. — Comparative experiments prove that faring and 
buriiiiig is one of the best methods employed in clearing uncultivated lands 
of a marly nature, though many disapprove of the practice. The operation 
consists in paring off the turf to a depth of two or three inches, — generally by 
a breast-plough, worked by hand, or by a turf-paring plough, drawn by i 

Fig. 8. 




horse, — allowing it to dry, and then burning it in heaps. The result is a 
mixture of burned earth, charred vegetable fibre, and the ashes of that part 
which is entirely consumed, thus producing a powerful manure, impregnated 
vviih alkaline salts and carbonaceous matter, which, it is well known, are 
very powerful promoters of vegetation. Insects are also killed by the pro- 
cess. It is very easy to ascertain whether any soil will be improved or not 
by paring and burning. A few sods may be taken and exposed to heat in an 
iron pot closely covered over ; the heat should not be so intense as to pro- 
duce light, but should be kept up for a considerable time, till the sods are 
consumed. If the ashes are red, and the whole is a fine powder, with par- 
ticles of charcoal in it, the soil from which it was taken may be safely pared 
and burned, especially if it forms a mud with water, and the earth is not 
readily deposited. But if it feels gritty, lets the water readily through, and 
Boon settles when mixed with it, burning will not be advantageous. 

Levelling Uneven Surfaces. — Frequently, when the surface of newly- 
cleared land is uneven, it is necessary, in the first place, to smooth and level 



SOILS : THEIR NATURE AND TREATMENT. 



33 



it, in order to cultivate it more easily. When the inequalities of the sur- 
face cannot be reduced by a more simple process, it may be done, when the 
soil is loose and sandy, by an instrument like the following ; or by another, 
which is much used in Flanders, consisting of a wooden shovel, shod with 
iron, and having a long handle ; about the middle of this shovel, which is 
convex, are two hooks, one on each side, to which chains are fixed, which 
unite at the bar, to which the traces of a horse or horses are to be attached ; 
a rope fixed to the end of the handle completes the instrument. A man 
accustomed to the use of it raises the handle, and the shovel enters the 
ground, and is filled by the horse going on. By depressing the handle, the 
load is made to slide on the rounded bottom of the shovel, till it arrives at the 
place where it is to be deposited. By letting the handle go, retaining the 

Fig. 9. 




rope, the whole is upset instantly, turning over on the edge ; the handle 
strikes on the bar, and the load is left behind in a heap. By pulling the 




rope, the whole instrument resumes its original position, and is brought back 
to th« place from whicli the earth is to be taken again, without any loss of 



34 farmer's hand-book. 

time, or the slightest stoppage of the horses. About five cwts. of loose 
earth may be thus moved at each time. Tliis instrument is seen in 
the preceding cut. 

Removing Stones. — The removal of large stones often increases the dit 
ficulty of clearing an uncultivated soil to a considerable extent ; and yet they 
must be removed, at least, as far belowf the surface of the soil as the plough 
penetrates in its course, otherwise it is wholly impossible to till the ground 
properly. When they cannot be used for any valuable purpose, they may 
be sunk into the ground to a depth at which they will not interfere with any 
of the operations of agriculture. For this purpose, a trench deeper than ^e 
stone itself is dug all around it, and it is laid in the hollow thus formed. 
The width and depth of this hollow must be greater than the breadth and 
depth of stone, and its shape must be so contrived that the stone, when 
turned over, may not present either of its angles or edges to the ground. 
Very large stones must be blasted, especially if they are going to be used in 
building. The most useful mode of conducting this operation consists in 
the use of gunpowder ; but it should be done by those who understand the 
operation, and with proper instruments. Another method consists in heat- 
ing the stone to a high degree, by means of a fierce fire applied to one part 
of it only, which will cause it to expand. When the stone has been thus 
made intensely hot, water is poured upon it to make it crack, the effect 
bemg increased by powerful blows given with very heavy hammers. A 
third method consists in piercing the stone in the direction of its veins, and 
introducing into the hole a cleft cylinder of iron, and then driving a wedge 
of the same metal in between the two halves of the cylinder. Finally, a 
quantity of water may, during the winter season, be introduced into a hole 
made in the stone to a sufficient depth, the aperture to be then closed with 
a stopper closely driven into it. The water contained in this hole, ex- 
panding as it freezes, exerts a force sufficient to break in pieces the strong- 
est stone. 

3. Ploughing. — Ploughing is justly considered the most important of 



Fi- 11. 




agricultural operations, as on the manner in which this is performed 
depends the facility of executing all succeeding operations on the same piece 



soils: their nature and treatment. 35 

of land. The plough acts as a wedge, separating a portion of the soil, and 
turning it over at the same time. The manual operation of holding the 
plough in a proper position, and directing the horses or cattle which draw 
it at the same time, is only to be acquired by experience ; when once 
attained, it is, perliaps, the most agreeable and healthful of agricultural 
exercises, the body being kept upright, tie arms and legs brought into 
action, and also the eye and the mind, to keep the furrow straight and of 
regular width and depth, and the voice to speak to the animals. 

In the performance of this operation it is requisite, 
% First. That the lines traced by the plough should be perfectly straight and 
parallel with one another ; the furrow slices all equal, and uniformly turned 
up, so that they may not overlap each other, or form any inequalities on the 
surface of the ground. If the slices are not of equal breadth, the operation 
becomes more difficult, because at every deviation from the straight line the 
resistance which the earth opposes to the instrument becomes increased. 

Second. That the plough advance at a regular and uniform depth, and 
on a line parallel to the surface of the soil ; that is to say, that it do not, as 
is the case when it is not well guided, sometimes cut thick and at others 
thin slices. 

Third. That the plough empty the furrow as completely as possible, so 
that the earth may not fall in again, after the instrument has passed ; and 
that the portion of soil not yet raised, but which has just been divided by 
the ploughshare, may form not an acute, but a right angle with the bottom 
of the furrow on which it borders 

Fourth. That the furrow-slice be turned up at an angle of about 40 
degrees, or so as to form with the surface of the ground, or the bottom of 
the furrow, an angle of from 40 to 50 degrees, which is in most cases the 
best inclination. 

Fifth. That the divided slices be always of the same breadth ; and that 
it be such as is required by the nature of the soil itself, and the purpose of 
tlie operation. 

Sixth. That they likewise preserve the depth which it is desirable to 
give them. 

Seventh. That the ridges or heaps of earth between the furrows be of a 
suitable length and breadth, and that their sides be parallel to one another, 
80 that they may not terminate in a point ; for such a form tends to increase 
the labor of ploughing considerably, by rendering it necessary to turn fre- 
quently. 

Eighth. That the ploughs be placed one after another, on different parts 
of the land to be ploughed, so that the operation may be executed in the best 
possible order, and with as little loss of time as possible. 



36 farmer's hand-bock. 

Ninth. That the horses or cattle be harnessed as near to the plough as 
they can be placed without retarding their free and easy movement ; for the 
nearer they are to the point of draught, the less exertion will be required to 
overcome the resistance. 

Tenth. That when ploughing- with a pair abreast, the most powerful 
horse should be worked in the furrow ; but, if the team be harnessed in line, 
and there be any ditference in the height of the cattle, the tallest should be 
put foremost, if he be in every respect equal to the other. 

Eleventh. That, when at work, they should be kept going at as regular 
and good a pace as the nature of the work will permit ; for they are thus 
more manageable, and the draught easier, than when slow. By attending to 
this, the heavy soil will cling less to the coulter, and the land will work 
more freely. 

Twelfth. That, the breadth and depth of the furrow being ascertained, the 
plough should be held upright, bearing equally all along on a straight dole, 
and be made to move forward in a regular line, without swerving to either 
side. The edge of the coulter should be set directly forward, so that the 
land-side of it may run in a parallel line with the land-side of the head, and 
in such a position that their slant or sweep may exactly correspond. 

Thirteenth. That the ploughman should walk with his body as nearly as 
possible upright, without leaning on the stilts, and without using force to 
any part, further than may be absolutely necessary to keep the implement 
steadily in a straight line. He should also be sparing of his voice, and of 
conection to the team : of the former, because too much cheering and order- 
ing only confuse the cattle, and because punishment, when often repeated, 
at length loses its effect. 

How to hold the Plough. — In ploughing, the instrument ought to be held 
vertically. If it is inclined to the left-hand side, the same work is per- 
formed in appearance, though not in reality, a portion of the ground below 
no*, being tilled at all, but left thus : 

Fig. 12. 



Construction of the Plough. — In the construction of ploughs, whatever 
be the sort used, there are a few general principles that ought invariably 
to be attended to ; such as the giving the throat and breast — or that part 
which enters, perforates, and breaks up the ground — that sort of long, nar- 
row, clean, tapering, sharpened form, that affords the least resistance in 
passing through the land ; and to the mould-board that kind of hollowed out 
and twisted form-, which not only tends to lessen friction, but also to con- 



SOILS : THEIR NATURE AND TREATMENT. 



37 



tribute greatly to the perfect turning over of the furrow-slice. The beam 
and muzzle should also be so contrived as that the moving power, or team. 



Fig. 13. 




may be attached in the most advantageous line of draught. With such an 
instrument, the farmer can cultivate his land to advantage. 

Depth of Ploughing. — This depends on the kind of crop to be cultivated, 
and other circumstances. In the field, all that can be arrived at is a kind 
of approximation to the true proportions. When the sods are considerably 
too wide in proportion to their depth, the ploughman will be admonished 
of this by their lying too flat, and too slightly overlapping one another. 
VV Hen their depth is considerably too great in proportion to their width, 
they will stand too upright, and be apt to fall back again into the furrow. 
The medium depth of good ploughing may be held to be seven inches, but 
this varies, according to the kind of crop to be cultivated, and the nature 
of the soil. The plough with lock coulter, wheel, and draft-rod, like the 
annexed, is most suitable for deep ploughing. 



Fig. 14. 




Ridges. — The first operation in the forming of lidges is striking the fur- 
rows. Let it be supposed that a field has been laid level by previous 
ploughings, and that the marks of fonner ridges being obliterated, the lines 
of the new ones are to be laid out. The usual breadth of ridges is from 
15 to 18 feet, and sometimes more. We may assume, in the following 
descriptions, fifteen feet to be the width of the ridges. 
4 



38 farmer's hand-book. 

Let, a steady ploughman be furnished with three or more poles of wood, 
Bhod with iron, 8 or 9 feet in length, and divided into feet jr half feet. 
The first operation is to mark off, at two sides of the field, what is termed a 
head-land. This is merely a ridge formed parallel to the side of the field, 
on which the horses are to turn ; to afford sufficient space for which, these 
ridges may be 18 feet wide. The lines of them are marked off before 
the other ridges, in order that the ploughman may know, on arriving at the 
end of the ridge, when to turn his horses. After the rest of the field is 
ploughed, the headlands themselves are ploughed, and formed into ridges. 

In the following diagram (Fig. 15), representing a field, let k f, g h, 
represent the lines of the headlands, drawn parallel to a b and c d, the 
sides or boundaries of the field, and at the distance from each of these sides 
of IS feet. These lines the ploughman marks out by running a straight 
furrow with his plough, parallel to the two sides. 

Let him now, beginning at the side of the field a d, parallel to which it 
is intended to run the ridges, measure off with his pole e a, 7^ feet. At 
the point a, let him place one of his poles. This is the point at which he 
is to enter his plough. But, leaving his horses, in the mean time, let hira 
walk on to a convenient distance, as to i, and there, in like manner measur- 
ing off I b, 7^ feet, let him set up his second pole dXb; and then, at the 
further end of the field, on the line of the headland, at c, let him place his 
third pole. He has now three poles placed in a line ; but if, from the length 
of the field, or inequalities of the surface, more than three poles are neces- 
sary, more must be used, as there must be so many poles in sight as that 
the ploughman may be enabled to direct his plough, by means of them, in a 
straight line. He now returns to his plough, and enters it at the first pole, 
at a, keeping the other two poles in a line, so that he may be enabled to 
plough directly towards them. Having entered his plough at a, he stops 
his horses, and measures off 15 feet to d, where he plants the pole. He 
then returns to his plough, which is standing at a, and drives his horses, 
keeping the two poles before him as a guide, to the second pole, b. Having 
done this, and leaving his plough standing at b, he measures off from b to e, 
15 feet, and there he plants his pole. He then returns to his plough, and 
proceeds forward, making his furrow in a straight line, to the last pole, c, 
where, in like manner, he stops his horses, and, measuring off 15 feet, he 
plants his pole at /. 

In this manner he has placed his poles in a straight line, at the distance 
of 15 feet from their last position, and parallel, as before, to the line of the 
fence. He now turns his horses sharp about, and returns by the furrow 
which he has just drawn, cb a. By this second ploughing he throws the 
earth ouJ in an opposite direction, so that he has formed a completely open 



SOILS : THEIR NATURE AND TREATMENT. 



39 



fiirrow. In returning, he takes care to correct any inequality or crookedneas 
that may have taken place through the unsteady motion of the horses in liis 
first track. 

The poles being now placed in a line, d e f, he brings his plough to d. 
enters it, and stops it there. He measures off 15 feet with his pole, from 
d to g, and fixes his pole at g ; and then he proceeds with his plough to e 
and f, repeating the same operation with his poles as before, and returnina 
by the track of his last-made furrow, from f to d. In this manner he pro- 
ceeds throughout the whole field, forming parallel open furrows, at the dis- 
tance from each other of 15 feet. These furrows are to form the centres ol 
the future ridges. 

The field is now prepared for being ploughed into ridges, and the mannei 
of doing so is this : — 

The ploughman, beginning at the left-hand side of the open furrow, 
ploughs his first furrow-slice towards it. He then, returning by the oppo- 
site side, performs the same operation, causing the first two furrow-slices tu 
rest upon each other. Thus, in forming his first ridge, he begins at the side 
of a, and, ploughing in the direction from a to c, he turns his first furrow- 
slice into the open furrow a c. When he arrives at c, he turns his plough 
right about, and returning from c to a, he lays his second furrow-slice upon 
tlie first one, as at c, Fig. 16. 

Fig. 15. 



r J 














e 




i 


\ 
1 
1 




ff a. ff a 



In this manner he continues, always turning to the righi-hand side, and 
laying his furrow-slices towards the centre of the ridge, until he has reached 



40 



farmer's HAi-VD-BOOK. 



V 



the boundary of the ridge e h, on the one side, and the line o s, half-waj 
between c a and d f, on the other. He has thus formed a ridge, of which 
c a is the crown or centre, and h e and o s the termination. By proceed- 
ing in this manner throughout the field, the whole is formed into ridges, of 
which the first-marked furrows are the centres. 

It has been said that the ploughman continues turning his horses to tlip 
right, and that thus, after having proceeded from a to c, he returns from c to 
a, and so on, always ploughing around a c, as a central line. When, how- 
ever, he has proceeded from a to c, he may turn his horses left about, and 
return from / to d, and so on, always laying his furrow-slices towards a c 
audfd, respectively. In this manner he will have ploughed the half of two 
adjoining ridges, and terminated at the space o s, half-way between them. 
This method, it will appear, has the same effect as turning the horses right 
about, and is the most convenient in practice. 

In Figure 16, in which c c, c c, c c, are the centres of the ridges, the 
manner in which the successive furrow-slices have been laid upon each 
other is shown. 

By this laying of the earth towards the centres, the ridges acquire a cer- 
tain curvature. By ploughing the earth away from the intervals a b, d e, 
F G, H I, the ground is hollowed at these parts, which now form the open 
furrows. It is by these open furrows that the water which falls upon the 
surface finds a passage. 

Fig. 16. 

A CDC F C H 

' '"'™i!liiiiin 




A certain, though not a great, degree of curvature, is given to the ridge by 
this ploughing. It is frequently, however, necessary to give it a yet greater 
degree of curvature and elevation. This is done by ploughing the whole 
ndge a second time, and in a similar manner. 



SOILS : THEIR NATURE AND TREATMENT. 41 

Gathering. — The plough is first driven along the centre of the ridge 
from c to c, forming an open fiirrow. Successive furrow-slices are then 
laid towards this furrow, in the same manner as in the previous ploughing. 
This is done with the successive furrow-slices, until the plough reaches 
the open furrows a b, d e, f g, h i. In this manner the whole ridge is 
ploughed, and an increased elevation and curvature given to it. This 
operation is termed gathering. 

In performing the operation of gathering, it is important that the ridge be 
formed with a uniform curvature, so that it shall not have what is techni- 
cally termed a shoulder, or hollow part, on each side of the crown. It is to 
prevent this defect that the open track is made along the crown, before the 
first two slices are laid together ; by which means the ploughman is better 
enabled to lay them upon each other in such a manner that they shall not 
overlap and form a protuberance at the crown of the ridge. A transverse 
section of the ridges, when gathered, will appear thus : 

Fig. 17. 

iCE CGCIC 

Casting. — A ridge being already formed, it may be wished to plough it 
again, and yet to preserve it at the same curvature and elevation. In this 
case, the plough is to enter at the open furrow, and to lay the successive 
furrow-slices towards it, until the two adjoining edges are ploughed. By 
this means, all the slices of the same ridge lie in the same direction, and the 
curvature and elevation of the whole remain as before. This operation ia 
termed casting, and the manner in which the furrow-slices rest upon each 
otner will appear in the following cut. 

Fig. 18. 



In the operation of casting, two methods may be pursued. The first two 
furrow-slices, as those of e and i, may be laid resting on each other, as in 
V'vg. 18, in which case the two ridges will be formed, as it were, into one 
large ridge ; or else the open furrows at e and i may be preserved by 
keeping the first two fiirrow-slices at a little distance from each other, and 
pri's^rving the space between them, as in Fig. 19. 

When land is ploughed in this manner, the ground is taken from one 
side of each two adjoining ridges at g, and laid towards the other, e and i ; 
that is, it is gathered towards one side and gathered from the other. In 
4* 



42 FARMER S HAND-BOOK. 

this manner, the ground at the open furrow g, from which we gathei, 
becomes more bare of earth than the open furrows k and i, towards which 

Fig. 19. 

BCBCG CIC 

we gather. When, therefore, we wish to cast a ridge twice in succession, 
we reverse the former mode of ploughing ; we gather towards the open 
furrow G, and from the open furrows e and i, and thus the ridge is restore.l 
to its former state. 

Cleaving. — In this operation, the plough commences at the open furrow, 
lays the first slice towards it, and then returning by the other side of the 
open furrow, lays the second slice upon the first, as in the following figure. 
When it has reached the centre, it stops, and begins with another pair of 
ridges, and ploughs the half of each pair together in the same manner. In 
this way the open furrows of the ridges become the centres, and the former 
centres become the open furrows. When we wish to level a ridge, we 
cleave it. 

Fig. 20. 



Cross Ploughing. — This, as the term denotes, is ploughing in a direc- 
tion crossing that of the former ridges and furrows. The workmen place 
themselves at equal distances from one another, as thirty or forty yards, at 
the side of the field at which they are to begin to plough. Each then runs 
a straight furrow across the field, as from a to d, from b to e, from c to 
F. Each then returns, as from d to a, from e to b, from f to c, laying 
always the successive furrow-slices towards the right hand, until each man 
arrives at the termination of his allotted space, xx, xx, xx, xx. There has 
been thus formed, by each workman, one great ridge, but so extended that 
it may be said to be without curvature. The ploughmen, we perceive, turn 
from left to right, around the first furrows a o, b e, c F. But they may 
also turn from right to left. Thus, in going from b to e, the ploughman 
lays his first furrow-slice to the right hand. When he arrives at e, lie 
may turn his horses left about, and proceed to d, and, returning from d to 
A, lay his first furrow-slice to the right hand towards d a. Turning left 
about, then, at a, he proceeds in the direction b e, and so on, always turning 
left about until he has arrived at the middle space o, when the whole space 
between a d and b e will have been ploughed. Sometimes, for conven- 



SOILS : THEIE NATURE AND TEEATMENT. 



43 



ience and the saving of distance, he may plough, in the first place, around the 
central line b e, by turning from left to right, and then plough the remaindet 
of the interval by turning from right to left. 

Fig. 21, 



These are matters of detail, somewhat difficult, perhaps, to be described 
clearly, but so simple in themselves, that they need only be seen in the field 
to be thoroughly understood. 

Subsoil Ploughing. — Loosening the subsoil by a plough, without turning 

Fig. 22, 




it, has been strongly recommended, of late years, as a great improvement in 
tillage. A heavy plough is first run along the field some six or eight inches 
deep, and a subsoil plough (see Fig. 22) follows in the bottom of the 



44 farmer's hand-book. 

furrow, deepening it to fourteen or sixteen inches in all. This differs from 
trench ploughing, in which the subsoil is cast up and mixed with the sur- 
face, by which the soil is either benefited or injured, according to the 
nali.re of the subsoil. The principal effect of subsoil ploughing is, that the 
earth is deepened to a considerable depth, and root culture is much im- 
proved ; the soil is also considerably drained, and if moor-pans exist in it, may 
be reclaimed from sterility. It is, therefore, a useful process in stiff soi?- 
imperfectly drained, but, in loose gravelly or sandy soils, subsoil ploughing 
is often very injurious. 

Fallowing. — In support of fallowing, it has been urged, that by no othei 
management has land produced so much corn — so much human food, which 
ought to be the great object ; that the work required in the operation is at a 
time of year when no pressing demand for labor exists, when there is often 
little or nothing for men or horses to execute ; that the land can be effectu- 
ally prepared for an early sowing of wheat, which is very desirable ; and that 
if fallowing (we now refer to complete summer fallows) were to be super- 
seded by spring or early green crops, a greater number of teams on any 
given extent of farm would be required to get through the work in proper 
season ; and that the transition from this practice, where it is regularly 
established, would be highly inconvenient. 

Fallows are of two kinds, — the entire or naked fallow, and the half fallow. 
In proportion to the progress of green-crop culture will be the relinquish- 
ment of the system of entire summer fallowing, which, after a farm has been 
once put into proper order, and with a regular rotation of ameliorating and 
cleansing crops, alternating with grain crops, is quite unnecessary. Unless 
on the first occupation of an exhausted and dirty farm, and without the means 
of manuring for fallow crops, the system of an entire summer fallowing is 
indefensible. Even on the strongest clay land, good, deep, and very early 
autumnal ploughing, with the subsequent spring culture well executed, and 
manure, ought to be sufficient for the production of crops. If the soil be 
of too tenacious a quality for turnips, it will yield potatoes, beans, or cab- 
bages, and the horse-hoeing process will render it friable, and fit for the 
ensuing crop of wheat. 

The full benefit of fallowing lies in loosening the adhesive particles of soil, 
and in the adm.ission of air, so essential to vegetation ; in suppressing, for a 
season, the productive powers and energies of the earth, and in destroying 
the vitality of weeds, and dissolving them altogether, by exposure to the in- 
fluence of the sun and atmosphere ; but all these effects may be produced by 
half-fallowing and green-crop culture. On friable soil there is no excuse 
for the former kind of fallowing, whatever may be urged in favor of the 
prdcti(;e on strong chalky or clayey land. The number of ploughings and 



SOILS : THEIR NATURE AND TREATMENT. 45 

harrowings must be regulated by the nature of the soil. Four good plough- 
ings, (exclusive of the first in the preceding autumn,) and as many har- 
rowings, ought to suffice for the most stubborn soils. If a fallow crop — 
suppose turnips — is to be put into the ground, three summer ploughinga 
ought to suffice. 

Why is it that one good, thick-standing crop is always followed by 
another 1 Why is lea-wheat better if the clover has been mowed twice than 
if it had been depastured 1 Why is land found to be in better heart after a 
heavy green crop than it is after bearing a white crop? The answer to all 
these questions is the same, namely, the soil has been completely shaded 
from the summer's sun. If a heap of stones be suffered to lie on a fallow 
field throughout the summer, and be not removed till seed-time, the spot will 
not only be visible by a much stronger growth of corn in the first, but for 
several years afterwards. Add to this what was said by an agricultural 
philosopher, that if he could cover his fallow fields for the whole summer 
with boards, his next crop would be doubled. But there are many circum- 
stances which may affect the surface of some soils differently from others. 
A thick crop of tares or of clover makes the surface moist and mellow when 
ploughed up, and thus may be beneficial to the seed sown immediately ; but 
there is a certain benefit to a heavy soil, arising from exposure to the dews 
and a warm sun, which cannot be denied, and which often equals a coat of 
manure. 

In all cases of fallow, the first ploughing should be given immediately 
after harvest, and as deep as the quality of the soil will permit, v/ith a 
strong team, if the land be very stiff and retentive of water ; and in all cases 
the field should be well ridged and deeply furrowed. Immediately after the 
stirring time of spring- work is over, if fallow crops are to be sown, the 
second ploughing is to take place, and in the same direction with the former 
one, lest, by cross-ploughing, a fall of rain should stagnate on the surface ; 
but in light soils a cross-ploughing is preferable, even at this early time. 
The third ploughing should be executed in June, and at this time always 
across the original direction of the ridges ; harrowing with a heavy break, 
if the land require it, should regularly succeed the summer ploughing, 
(with rolling, if necessary,) and the harrowing is to be executed by repeated 
double turns, crossing those of the previous ones, until the land is sufficiently 
pulverized to admit of the easy collection of weeds, with the harrow, the 
couch-rake, or prongs. 

It is of great importance, at this period of the summer-fallow, to drag to 
the suvface and collect as large a portion as possible of the roots of vivacioua 
weeds in the ground ; for this being the period of active vegetation, every 



46 



farmer's hand-book. 



part of these roots which is left in the ground will grow again and extend 
itself. 

4. Harrowing. — In conducting this operation, the harrows pass over the 
ridge either longitudinally or across. At the end of the ridge they are 

Fig. 23. 




turned, and generally pass again over the same ground. This is called a 
double turn of the harrows. When they do not return over the same 
ground, but pass to another space, they are said to give a single turn. 
When land is to be pulverized and cleaned of root-weeds, the operation 
consists of repeated double turns of the harrows in different directions. The 
root-weeds, being dragged to the surface, are collected by the hand, and 
carried off the ground or burned. The plough prepares the ground for the 
action of the harrow, and the plough and the harrow acting by turns, the land 
is pulverized and cleaned. 

Besides the cleaning of the ground, a purpose in harrowing is to cover the 
seeds of the cultivated plants. The number of harrowings to be given for 
this end depends on the state of the ground and other circumstances. When 
the surface is matted together by the roots of plants, as in the case of land 
ploughed when in grass, repeated double turns are required to cover the 
seeds in a proper manner. 

The operation of harrowing is best performed when the land is dry. 
Harrowing when the land is wet is to be avoided, both on account of the 
less efficiency of the operation, and of the injury done to the ground by the 



SOILS : THEIR NATURE AND TREATBIENT. 



47 



treading of the cattle. In the case of covering seeds, however, in unfavorable 
seasons, it is often necessary to harrow the ground when in a wet state. In 
extreme cases of this kind, the practice has been sometimes resorted to of 
attaching several harrows to a bearj stretching across the ridge, and causing 
the animals to walk in the open fu/rows. 

There are several kinds of harrows in use ; but the Geddes pattern, rep- 
resented below, is, by many, considered superior. The Scotch harrow ia 
exhibited in the cut immediately preceding the one below. 

Fig. 24. 




5. Rolling. — This operation, which, however, should not be attempted 
when the land is so wet as to clog the roller, is highly conducive to the 
vegetation of crops — especially wheat — by reducing the rough parts of the 
Burface to a mouldered state, and thus earthing up the stems of the plants 
while it renders the surface level and compact. Its use, in closely compress- 
ing the p3Tticles of earth on light, sandy soils, b} excluding cold wind or a 
pa/cbing »un from the roots of young corn, is extremely great, and may be 



48 



farmer's hand-book. 



repeatedly performed to grain crops in the spring months, as long as it can 
be continued without breaking the stems. A heavy roller is essential to the 
success of corn in tenacious soils, by closing up the fissures which dry 
weather occasions, and is useful for breaking down clods on fallows, in aid 
of tlie harrow, which then more easily separates them, and disengages 
weeds, bringing them to the surface. 

If the roller be heavy, — as it ought to be, in order to be really useful, — 
and require two horses, they should not be in line, unless the roller be 
constructed with only single shafts ; independently of tlie disadvantageous 
tipplication of power in this case, the trampling of eight legs, instead of four, 
in the same track, will make, under particular circumstances, impressions 
which the roller will not so readily remove as if only the footsteps of a 
single horse in the track were imbedded. This is, of course, perfectly 
immaterial in preparing fallows for the succeeding plough and harrow, 
hough it may be of some wei^^.tt in the case of sown crops, where the 
surface is not to be stirred ag3 u. 



Fig. 25. 




On grass lands heavy rolling is highly efficacious, particularly if the 
surface has been rendered uneven by the treading of cattle, or by any other 
causes. On dry, absorbent land, when under grass, rolling will be most use- 
ful after rain, if not so immoderate as to cause injury from the feet of the 
animals during the process ; and the earlier in the morning the better, in 
order to destroy vermin. Meadows are served by rolling immediately after 
the hay is removed, in order to press the seeds that had been diffused over 



SOILS : THEIR NATURE AND TREATMENT. 49 

the surface into the earth, and thus promote their vegetation. The usual 
way of moving the roller, is to begin at one end of the field, and to leave at 
each bouting an interval precisely of the breadth of the roller, (in order to 
allow a sufficient sweep for the roller in each turning, without injuring the 
head-rig by tearing it, or distressing the horses,) and alternately to roll 
these intervening portions. When the land is in ridges, the rolling should 
be across them. 

The box which is seen attached to the roller represented on the preceding 
page, is to receive stones, &c., picked up in the fleld, and also for giving 
weight to the roller according to the work required. 

6. Manuring. — This important subject will be treated of in its relation 
to the composition of manures and their application to the different soils. 

Action of Manures. — Manure acts upon the soil in two ways : First, by 
communicating to, it those juices which are calculated for the nutrition of 
plants and vegetables ; and, secondly, by the chemical action which it exer- 
cises on those substances contained in the soil, decomposing them, and 
re-combining them under new forms, and thus facilitating their introduction 
into the suckers of plants ; and, perhaps, also by communicating that degree 
of energy and activity to vegetation, which enables it to take up and appro- 
priate the suitable nutritive juices. 

Natural Manures. — All animal bodies, as dead carcasses, flesh, intestines, 
the refuse of the shambles, &c., when in a state of putrefaction, may be 
converted into manure ; and manures thus formed are far more active than 
any other. Yet, in general, the excrements and urine of animals, obtained 
from them while living, are set aside for manure, because a large quantity 
can thus be procured, and at much less cost. It is found very advantageous 
to mix these excrementitious substances with the remains of vegetable 
matters, for by this means the latter are made to putrefy more rapidly, and 
do not lose so much of their actual substance, while, also, the fermentation 
of the animal bodies, which would otherwise be carried on with too great 
rapidity, is somewhat retarded. Manures thus formed are called " natural 
manures," in order to distinguish them from others which are termed " arti- 
ficial." Besides, they are the kind best known, and, indeed, ampig many 
persons, are the only description which is known and used. 

Those excrements which are voided by animals through the intestinal 
canal are composed not only of the food which they have taken, and of that 
portion of its filaments which could not be decomposed, but also of minute 
particles of the body of the animal itself, which are deposited in the 
intestinal canal after having performed their office. They consf^quently 
may be said to be entirely composed of animalized substances, and, even in 
animals fed almost entirely on vegetables, will be found to possess more of 
5 ' D 



50 farmer's hand-book. 

the animal than the vegetable nature. The properties of the dung, however 
depend, to a certain extent, on the manner in which the beasts are fed, and 
their condition and breed. Hence arises the striking difference which 
exists between the dung yielded by cattle put up to fatten, or which are in a 
good state of keeping, and that which is voided by lean, badly-fed animals. 

Urine. — It is generally customary to mix urine with the solid excrements. 
This liquid, M'hich is, in fact, composed chiefly of water, likewise contains a 
substance which is peculiar to itself, and various other very active matters, 
particularly ammonia. These matters are most beneficial when mixed up 
with the solid excrements, and collected by means of litter, or of substances 
peculiarly adapted for the purpose, which substances decompose one another, 
and give rise to the formation of new compounds. Common manure is com- 
posed of these two kinds of excrements, and of those vegetable substances 
which are used as litter, as straw, fern, or dry leaves, — chiefly the first of 
these three. This mixture is commonly termed stable-manure. 

The Various Kinds of Excrement. — When horse-dung, in a proper state 
of moisture, is exposed to air of a moderate temperature, it soon enters into 
fermentation ; and if it is not watered, instead of assuming the form of a 
thick paste or black-butter, as it is called, it becomes powdery, and wastes 
away, leaving scarcely anything but ashes behind. Manure produced by 
horn-cattle also begins to ferment very soon, provided that it is close and 
•iniform in consistence, and contains only its proper moisture ; but its fer- 
nientation is less rapid than that of horse-dung, and, therefore, requires no 
watering, and does not waste away. Its effect on land is also more lasting, 
diough less rapid. When placed in the soil, it does not appear to produce 
any very sensible increase of the temperature, and on this account it is 
adapted peculiarly for the manuring of warm soils. Sheep-dung, when kept 
in a compact heap, decomposes rapidly ; but where it is loosely heaped, it 
decomposes much more slowly. When placed in the soil, or dropped 
upon it by the sheep, it produces a speedy and energetic effect, often- 
times giving too much vigor to the first crop, when it is used abundantly. 
The quality of pigs'-dung depends greatly on the kind of food they consume, 
also on the manner of collecting it. If the liquid portion of the excrements 
are mixed with the straw in such a manner as to prevent any running off, 
and the dung is placed in a situation favorable to its decomposition, a very 
active compound is produced. Poultry-dung can be obtained generally only 
in small quantities, but it is very active, and of great value. It is veiy differ- 
ent from that of quadrupeds, and contains a peculiar substance, mainly 
resembling the white of an egg. This kind of manure, in order to have its 
due effect on the soil, must be divided as minutely as possible, and be spread 
over the ground, without burying or covering it up. 



SOILS : THEIR NATURE AND TREATMENT. 



51 



Mght-Soil. — Human excrements, or night-soil, make a very active ma- 
nure. The hest way of using it is to form it into a kind of compost, by 
mixing it with other substances, and especially by making it into heaps with 
turf, and adding a small quantity of burnt lime. By mixing and mingling 
it thoroughly with these substances, it loses its fetid odor, and should then 
be spread over the ground, without covering or burying. A powerful manure 
is manufactured from night-soil, called poudrette, on account of its form being 
that of a powder. 

Management of Manures. — Dung should be left in the stable as long aa 
possible, for its quality is thereby improved. But it should not be done at 



Fig. 26. 



Fig. 27. 




the expense of the cleanliness and comfort of the cattle, or keeping the stable 
dry. If the dung is suffered to remain under the cattle, great care must be 
taken that it does not collect in larger quantities under their hind than 
under their fore feet, for that would keep them in an unnatural attitude. 

In ordinary circumstances, it is more convenient to mingle the different 
species of dung uniformly in the heap, so that the defects of one sort of 
mannrft may correct those of another ; and the result will be a regular and 
well-digested compound. 

As to the time when manure should be carted into the fields, and the state 
in which the manure should be, it is pretty well ascertained that manure 
should not be removed whilst in a high state of fermentation, because at that 



52 farmer's hand-book. 

period an important part of some of its most active properties would evapO" 
rate ; but before fermentation has commenced, or after it has subsided, 
it appears to lose little by exposure to air, beyond what it regains in 
•mother manner. 

There are visible advantages attending the spreading upon the land fresh 
Btrawy manure, and to leave it till the ploughings of spring commence, 
taking care, however, that the water does not wash away the juices, and 
carry them beyond the field, but that it merely allows them to penetrate the 
earth. This method of covering the soil during winter renders it much 
more friable, and remarkably fertile. 

The practice of leaving the manure on the land in small heaps, as it is 
unloaded from tlie carts, is not judicious. The decomposition will be very 
irregular, the valuable gases will be carried away by the wind, the most 
valuable portion of the juices will all be absorbed by the soil immediately 
beneath the heap, and the places where these heaps have been will be 
marked by the rank growth of the crop, whilst the surrounding parts 
present an impoverished appearance. 

The proper time for carting manure varies much with the circumstances 
and economy of the farm. Winter manure is best suited for seed crops, 
whilst fresh litter is particularly adapted to potatoes, especially in clay soils, 
because it diminishes their tenacity, and allows the plant to come in contact 
with the atmosphere. Other crops, and especially cabbages, do better with 
decomposed manures ; this being, on light lands, essential to their success. 
Afterwards, the manure for beans and peas may be curted, and this can 

Fig. 28. 




either be buried or spread over the soil. To heavy clay lands a larger 
portion of manure must be given at a time, because they can bear it without 
risk of the crops being laid. Upon a light, hot soil, the manure is quickly 
decomposed, and a very abundant supply may have a bad effect, in causing 



SOILS : THEIR MATURE AND TREATMENT. 53 

the crops either to fall or to scorch up. In mixing fine manures with the 
BOil, ilie improved expanding cultivator (Fig. 28) is very useful. 

Forming Composts. — In the formation of composts, two methods are 
pursued. 7n the one, the several matters of which they are composed are 
divided into different layers, and placed one above the other ; at the bottom 
of the heap a bed of turf or of earth is placed, five or six feet larger on 
each side than the extended heap ; then a layer, about a foot thick, of the 
freshest dung that is to be had ; above this another layer of turf or earth. 
If there are any other matters capable of putrefaction, they are placed upon 
this bed, which is covered with another layer of dung, and so on, till it has 
arrived at a height of five or six feet ; it is then covered with another layer 
of earth. Quick-lime is often mixed with these composts, but the lime must 
not be in immediate contact with the dung, because it causes it to decom- 
pose too speedily and to too great an extent. Place it between two layers 
of earth, or between earth and any other substance difficult of decomposi- 
tion. When the sides of the bed of the dung-hill have become saturated 
with the liquor from the heaps, they are turned over and spread upon the 
surface. The compost then heats, and fermentation commences, and it ia 
left till this fermentation ceases. When no more heat is felt in the interior 
of the heap, it is turned over, so that the part which was above becomes 
the bottom, and that which formed the sides is turned into the middle. 
Sometimes a fresh bed of earth is placed below the heap. The heap, when 
turned over, is long and narrow, resembling a roof, in order that it may be 
more exposed to the air ; because it is thought that by this means it is 
increased in weight and quality. 

In the other method which is pursued in forming composts, the various 
substances are all brought to the place where the dunghill is to be made, 
and are deposited separately around it. The bed of earth for the bottom of 
the heap is then formed in the middle ; the laborers then surround the heap, 
and each, with a shovel, throws the substances as they lie around it into the 
bed, by which means the whole mass is equally mixed throughout. Thus 
loam, earth, tufts of grass, moss, the leaves of trees, particularly of pine 
trees, saw-dust, and the remains of animal or vegetable matter, and very 
often, in addition to this, lime, ashes, soot, and fresh litter, are all incor- 
porated, and the mixture wetted with the liquid which drains from the 
manure, or with urine. This dunghill should, like the former, be allowed 
to remain quiet till the fermentation is past, when it should be turned over 
several times. 

Litter. — Where there is a scarcity of straw, various vegetable substances 
are used for the purpose of absorbing and retaining the excrementitious 
matters, and forming a dry bed for the cattle, as well as for increasing th6 
5* 



54 FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 

quantity of the manure. The litter in most general use, after straw, is the 
leaves of trees, especially the pine; and when once the decomposition has 
taken place, the dung is even superior in quality, because the pine-tree 
leaves contain a far greater proportion of nutritive juices than the straw 
Oak-leaves are not so good, and when mixed with manure before they are 
decomposed, must not be removed from the heap for a considerable period 
The leaves of beech, walnut, and chestnut trees are apparently not greatly 
beneficial to vegetation, since little or no grass usually grows under them , 
hut, when mixed with dung, they soon lose their baneful properties, and 
lapidly decompose. Alder, willow, and poplar leaves decompose quickly, 
but they possess little consistence, and tend only slightly to increase the 
volume of the excrements which they receive. Heath, broom, reeds, 
rushes, aquatic plants, moss, fern, &c., may be used as litter, when nothing 
else can be obtained. 

Applying Liquid Manure. — The liquid manures, which should be 
carefully attended to, are specially devoted to those crops which will bear 
rich ameliorations. Some farmers reserve them for clovers and other 
artificial meadows, or for natural pastures. They are never so advan- 
tageous as when applied to sandy soils, which they render tolerably 
consistent, and more adapted for the retention of moisture ; but the use of 
liquid manure will never replace that of dung on hard or clayey soils. 

Folding. — Besides the various animal manures which we have named, 
there is that which arises from the folding or cotting of sheep or cattle on 
arable land. This practice is most usually followed with sheep. It is 
questionable, however, whether this close confinement of sheep be favorable 
to their health and fleece. It is only the strongest and most vigorous breeds 
that can support it. And, independently of the diflference in the health of 
animals, folding at night in common, littered, combines all the advantages 
of folding on arable land, with this exception, that the latter method saves 
the labor and expense of carrying the manure. 

Dead Bodies, Bones, <^c. — Animal bodies, when dead, form a peculiarly 
active manure. If these are collected together in trenches, or enclosures 
walled around, covered with quick-lime, mixed with earth, and subse- 
quently, when they have lost their putrid and offensive smell, which is 
soon carried off by the lime, the whole mixture be stirred and mingled 
together, an exceedingly active manure will be obtained. Even bones 
are softened by the admixture of quick-lime, and when powdered and 
applied to land, produce a wonderful effect. Fish, covered with lime and 
mixed with earth, are very fertilizing. Horn, hoofs of animals, shamble 
refuse, hair and wool, sugar scum, and all kinds of filth, are good foi 
manuring. Guano, which consists simply of the excrement of sea-fowls, ia 



SOILS : THEIR NATURE AND TREATMENT. 55 

also a powerful manure, but must be applied more abundantly than is com- 
monly supposed, in order to be effective. It should not be applied in 
immediate contact with seeds, requires considerable moisture, and, if well 
mixed with three or four times its weight of finely sifted earth, and suftercj 
to remain some weeks in this state before it is used by the drill, or applied 
broadcast, its effects will be more considerable. 

Vegetable Manures. — Purely vegetable manures are not nearly so active and 
energetic as those of animal origin ; but, on the other hand, their effects are 
more durable. There cannot be a doubt that all those weeds which are 
allowed to produce their flowers, and then buried by the action of the 
plough, tend to augment the fertility of the soil. There is not a single 
vegetable substance, even down to the stubble which most crops leave 
behind them, which does not restore some portion of mould to the soil ; and 
nothing tends to improve land more than the turf or accumulation of herbage 
which i? successively formed during a number of years. Those plants, 
however, which are cultivated for the purpose of being buried as vegetable 
manure, should be such as will shoot up and flourish with all possible 
rapidity. The seed must not be expensive ; but of such a nature as that a small 
quantity will sow a considerable surface, — must be well adapted to keep the 
soil loose, and must be disposed to putrescence. There is no plant which 
combines these qualities so largely as what is called corn spurry ; also rape 
peas, vetches, beans, and buckwheat. Sea-weeds and pond-weeds mai 
likewise be entered in the class of vegetable substances which yield a»« 
active and energetic manure ; also the weed which is found at the bottom of 
rivers, ponds, and other places in which stagnant water has remained for 
any length of time. Peat is a substance which may also be employed foi 
the amelioration of land, especially light, friable soils. 

Mineral Manures. — Of late years there has been considerable discussion 
concerning lime as a manure. This substance, especially when it has 
been recently calcined, or is, in other words, what we call quick-lime, 
absorbs the carbonic acid which is contained in the atmosphere which 
surrounds it, and afterwards communicating it to the plants, doubtless 
furnishes them with some nourishment : but this nutrition is very slight ; 
tlie property to which it owes the chief power in promoting vegetation is 
that of decomposing the various inert vegetable or animal substances which 
it meets with in the soil, and transforming them into nutritive juices 
adapted to the nature of plants. 

The use of marl is always attended by evident and beneficial effects, 
especially when clayey marl is applied to a sandy soil ; and advantageous 
results have been obtained even when, after several years of rest, the land haa 
appeared so exhausted and sterile as scarcely to be worth the trouble of 



56 farmer's hand-book. 

sowing it. It is likewise advantageous to make use of marl mixed with 
dung, and with peat and mud, in the form of a compost. 

The effects of gypsum are much greater on dry soils than on those which 
are moist or damp. It is chiefly used in the cultivation of clover, or other 
plants of a similar nature. It is applied both in a calcined and an uncalcined 
state, without much difference in its effects, unless, indeed, a heavy rain falls 
immediately after this substance has been spread in the former state, when 
the powder will be converted into hard, strong lumps, and rendered useless. 
The most important point is to see that the gypsum is powdered as fine as 
possible, and strew it when there is but little wind. 

Ashes, of various kinds, are much used, especially abroad. When 
thoroughly burned, ashes are composed of earths and potash, to which are 
sometimes added metallic oxides and different salts. Lime is always the 
predominating earth which enters into their composition, even when the 
plants whence they are derived have not sprung from a limy soil. Bleach- 
ers' and soap-boilers' ashes are much preferred. 

7. Draining. — As a certain quantity of moisture is essential to vegeta- 
tion, so an excess of it is highly detrimental. In the removal of this excess 
consists the operation of draining. 

The Causes of Wetness in Lands. — The successful practice of draining 
depends, in a great measure, on a proper knowledge of the structure of the 
earth's upper crust ; that is, of the various layers of which it is composed, 
as well as of their relative degrees of porosity, or capability of admitting or 
rejecting the passage of water through them, and likewise the modes in 
which the water is formed, and conducted from the high or hilly situations 
to the low or level grounds. To perform properly the business of draining, 
attention should not only be paid to the differences in regard to the situation 
of the lands, or what is commonly called drainage land, but also to the 
nature, distribution, and depth of the materials that constitute the soils or 
more superficial parts of them, as upon each of these some variety, in respect 
to the effects arising from water retained in them, may depend. Wetness 
of land, so far as it respects agriculture, and is an object of draining, may 
generally depend on the two following causes : first, on the water which is 
formed and collected on or in the hills or higher grounds, filtrating and 
sliding down among some of the different beds of porous materials that lie 
immediately upon the hard strata or layers, forming springs below and 
flowing over the surface, or stagnating underneath it, — and, secondly, on 
rain or other water becoming stagnant on the surface, from the retentive 
nature of the soil or surface materials, and the particular nature of the situa- 
tion of the ground. The particular wetness which shows itself in different 
situations, in the forms of bogs, swamps, and morasses, for the most part 



SOILS •• THEIR NATURE AND TREATMENT. 57 

proceeds from the first of these causes ; but that superficial wetness which 
lakes place in the stiff, tenacious, clayey soils, with little inclination of 
surface, generally originates from the latter. The most certain and expedi- 
tious method of draining, in such cases, is that of intercepting the descent of 
the water or spring, and thereby totally removing the cause of wetness. 
This may be done where the depth of the surface, and consequently of the 
spring, is not great, by making level drains of considerable length across the 
declivities of the hills, about where the low grounds of the valleys begin to 
form, and connecting these with others made for the purpose of conveying 
the water thus collected into the brooks or rivulets that may be near. 
Where the spring has naturally formed itself an outlet, it may frequently 
only be necessary to bore into it, or render it larger, and of more depth, 
which, by affording the water a more free and open passage, may evacu-ite 
and bring it off more quickly, or sink it to a level so greatly below that of 
the surface of the soil as to prevent it from flowing into or over it. 

Boggy Lands, and the True Line of the Spring. — In the drainage of 
boggy or wet grounds, arising from springs of water beneath them, it is 
necessary to be fully acquainted with the nature and disposition of the strata 
composing the higher grounds, and the connection which they have with 
that which is to be rendered dry. The line of springs being ascertained, 
and also some knowledge of the under surface, a line of drain should be 
marked out above or below them, according to the nature of the strata, and 
excavated to such a depth as will intercept the water in the porous strata 
before it rises to the surface. The effect of such drains will often be greatly 
heightened by boring holes in their bottom with the auger. Where water 
issues forth on the surface at more places than one, it is necessary to deter- 
mine which is the real or principal spring, and that from which the other 
outlets are fed, as by removing the source, the others must of course be 
rendered dry. It may sometimes happen that where the highest are the 
strongest outlets, they may be the main or leading springs ; those which 
show themselves lower down in the land being merely formed by the water 
of the main spring overflowing, and finding itself a passage from an opening, 
or the porous nature of the materials of the soil near to the surface, and from 
being obstructed somewhat further down in the ground by some impenetrable 
layer. This circumstance must, therefore, be fully ascertained before the 
lines for the ditches or drains are marked out. In cases where the banks or 
rising grounds are formed in an irregular manner, and from the nature of 
the situation, or the force of the water underneath, springs abound around the 
bases of the protuberances, the ditches made for the purpose of draining should 
always be carried up to a much higher level in the side of the elevated 
ground than that in which the wetness or water appears ; as far even as to 



58 



FARMER S HAND-BOOK. 



the firm, unchanged land. Where there is a difficulty in ascertaining the line 
of the spring, and consequently that of the cross drain, either from its not 
showing itself upon the surface, or from there not being any apparent outlet, 
it may generally be met with in carrying up the conducting drain for con- 
veying away the water ; as soon as the operator discovers the spring, he 
need not proceed any further, but form the cross drain on the level thus dis- 
covered to such a distance on each side of the tail, or terminating part of the 
strata, of whatever sort, that contains the water, as the nature of the land, 
it regard to situation or other circumstances, may demand. The following 
figure, representing an uneven surface, will illustrate the nature of the strata 
which produce springs. 

Fig. 29. 




Suppose A A a porous gravel, through which the water filtrates readily , 
B B a stratum of loam or clay, impervious to water. The water which 
comes through a a will run along the surface of b b towards s s, where 
it will spring to the surface, and form a lake or bog between s and s. Sup- 
pose another gravelly or pervious stratum under the last, as c c c, bend- 
ing as here represented, and filled with water running into it from a higher 
level ; it is evident that this stratum will be saturated with water up to the 
dotted line e f f, which is the level of the point in the lower rock, or 
impervious stratum, d, where the water can run over it. If the stratum 
B B has any crevices in it below the dotted line, the water will rise through 
these to the surface, and form springs rising from the bottom of the lake or 
bog ; and if b b were bored through and a pipe inserted, rising up to the 
dotted line, as c o, the water would rise and stand at o. If there were no 
springs at s s, the space below the dotted line might still be filled with 
water rising from stratum c c c. But if the boring took place at g, the 
water would not rise, but, on the contrary, if there were any on the surface, 
it would be carried down to the porous stratum c c c, and run off. 
Thus in one situation boring will bring water, and in another it wil' take it 
off. This principle being well understood, will greatly facilitate all drain- 
ings of springs. Wherever water springs, there must be a pervious and an 
impervious stratum to cause it, and the water either runs over the impervi- 
ous surface, or rises through the crevices in it. When the line of the 
springs is found, as at s s, the obvious remedy is to cut a channel with a 
sufficient declivity to take off the water in a direction across this line, and 



SOILS : THEIR NATURE AND TREATMENT. 



59 



sunk through the porous soil at the surface into the lower impervious earth. 
The place for this channel is where the porous soil is the shallowest above 
the breaking out, so as to require the least depth of drain ; but the solid 
stratum must be reached, or the draining will be imperfect. It was by at- 
tending to all these circumstances that Elkington acquired his celebrity in 
draining, and that he has been regarded as the father of the system. 

Drains, and Peat Lands. — When the drains cannot be carried to a 
sufficient depth to take the water out of the porous stratum saturated with 
jt, it is often useful to bore numerous holes with a proper auger in the 
bottom of the drain through the stiffer soil, and, according to the principle 
explained in the preceding figure, the water will either rise through these 
bores into the drains, and be carried off, and the natural springs will be 
dried up, or it will sink down through them as at g, in the section, if it lies 
above. This method is often advantageous in the draining of peat-bogs, 
which generally lie on clay or stiff loam, with a layer of gravel between the 
loam and the peat, the whole lying in a basin or hollow, and often on a 
declivity. The peat, though it retains water, is not pervious, and drains 
may be cut into it which will hold water. When the drains are four or five 
feet deep, and the j)eat is much deeper, holes are bored down to the clay 
below, and the water is pressed up through these holes, by the weight of 
the whole body of peat, into the drains, by which it is carried off. Figures 
30 and 31, represent a common case of this kind ; h h (Fig. 31) are the 
Bides of a hill ; the swampy lot, below, is filled with springs, which 
are, however, drained by running a ditch {b b) across it, and sinking 



Fig. 31. 



Fig .30 




holes into the subsoil. One of these holes is seen in Fig. 30 (a J), and the 
manner in which it conveys the surface water away. The bottom of the 



60 farmer's hand-book. 

drains is sometimes choked with loose sand, which flows up with the water, 
and they require to be cleared repeatedly ; but this soon ceases after the first 
rush is past, and the water rises slowly and regularly. The surface of the 
peat, being dried, dressed with lime, and consolidated with earth and gravel, 
Boon becomes productive. 

When a single large and deep drain will produce the desired effect, it is 
much better than when there are several smaller, as large drains are more 
easily kept open, and last longer, than smaller ones ; but this is only the case 
in tapping main springs, for, if the water is diffused through the surrounding 
soil, numerous small drains are more effective. But, as soon as there is a 
sufficient body of water collected, the smaller drains should run into larger, 
and these into main drains, which should all, as far as is practicable, unite into 
one principal outlet, by which means there will be less chance of their being 
choked up. When the water springs into a drain from below, it is best to 
fill up that part of the drain which lies above the stones, or other materials 
which form the channel, with solid earth well pressed in, and made imper- 
vious to within a few inches of the bottom of the furrows in ploughed land, 
or the sod in pastures ; because the water running along the surface is apt 
to carry loose earth with it, and choke the drains. When the water comes 
in by the sides of the drains, loose stones, or gravel, or any porous material, 
should be laid in them to the line where the water comes in, and a little 
above it. over which the earth may be rammed in tight, so as to allovr the 
horses to walk over the drain without sinking in. 

Hard Soils. — Another branch in the art of draining is the removal of 
water from hard soils which lie flat, or in hollows, where the water from 
rain, snow, or dews, which cannot sink into the soil, runs along the surface 
and stagnates in every cavity or depression. In this case a number of drains 
are required to lay the surface dry. There is often a layer of light earth 
immediately over a sub-layer of clay, and after continued rains this soil 
becomes filled with water, like a sponge, and no healthy vegetation can 
take place. To meet this, numerous drains must be made in the subsoil, 
and even the draining tiles or bushes, which may be laid at the bottom of 
tne drains ; loose gravel or broken stones must be laid to within a foot of 
the surface, so that the plough shall not reach them. The water will 
gradually sink into these drains and be carried off, and the loose wet soil 
will become firm and dry. 

Direction of Drains. — It is very seldom that a field is absolutely level ; 
the first thmg, therefore, to be ascertained, is the greatest inclination, and its 
direction. The next object is to arrange drains so that each shall collect as 
much of the water in the soil as possible. Large drains, except as main 
drains, are inadmissible. The depth should be such only that the plough may 



SOILS : THEIR NATURE AND TREATMENT. Gl 

not reach it, if the land is arable, or the feet of cattle tread it in, if it be in 
pasture. All the drains which are to collect the water should lie as nearly 
at right angles to the inclination of the surface as is consistent with a suf- 
ficient fall in the drain to make them run. One foot is sufficient fall for a 
drain three hundred feet in length, provided the drains be not more than 
twenty feet apart. The main drains, by being laid obliquely, across the 
fall of the ground, will help to take off a part of the surface water. It is 
evident that the drains can seldom be in a straight line, unless the ground 
be perfectly even. They should, however, never have sudden turns, but be 
bent gradually where the direction is changed. The flatter the surface and 
the stiffer the soil, the greater number of drains will be required. It is a 
common practice with drainers to run a main drain directly down the slope, 
however rapid, and to carry smaller drains into this alternately on the right 
and left, which they call herring-bone fashion. But this can only be 
approved of where the ground is nearly level, and where there is very little 
fall for the main drain. A considerable fall is to b^ avoided as much aa 
possible, and every drain should lie obliquely to the natural run of the water. 
It generally happens that, besides surface water, there are also some land 
springs arising from a variation in the soil ; these should be carefully ascer- 
tained, and the drains should be so laid as to cut them off. 

Clay Land. — In draining clay land, where there is only a llayer of a few 
inches of looser soil over a solid clay, which the plough never stirs, the 

Fig. 32. 




drains need not be deeper than two feet in the solid clay, nor wider than 
they can be made without the sides falling in. The common draining tile, 
which is a flat tile bent in the form of half a cylinder, and which can be 
made at a very cheap rate, is the best for extensive surface draining. In 
Bolid clay it requires no flat tile under it ; it is merely an arch to carry the 
loose stones or earth with which the drain is filled up. Loose round stones 
or pebbles are the best where they can be procured, and in place of them, 
bushea, heath, or straw may be laid. In grass land the sod may be laid 
6 



62 



FARMER S HAND-BOOK. 



over the drain, after it has been filled up, so as to form a slight ridge over 
it. This will soon sink to a level with the surface. To save the expense 
of stone or tiles, drains are frequently made six inches wide at the bottom ; 
a narrow channel is cut in the solid clay, two or three inches wide and six 
deep (a), leaving a shoulder on each side to support a sod, which is cut so 
as to fit the drain, and rest on the shoulder (b) ; this sod keeps the earth 
from filling the channel. It is filled up as previously described. Where 
the clay is not sufficiently tenacious, the bottom of the drain is sometimes 
cut with a sharp angle, and a twisted rope of straw is thrust into it. This 
keeps the earth from falling in, and the running of the water keeps the 
channel open ; the straw, not being exposed to the air, remains a long time 
without decaying. It is a common mistake to suppose that in these drains 
water enters from above ; — it rises from below. 

Varieties of Drains. — The different sorts of drains in use may be classed 
in two divisions, — drains of conveyance alone, and drains of conveyance 
and collection jointly. In the former, all that is necessary is a channel or 
passage for the water, of sufficient dimensions, which may be formed by pipes 
of different kinds, arched or barrel drains, and box or walled drains. We 
give cuts of these, as follows : 

Fig. 33. 




8. Irrigating. — Watering poor land, especially of a gravelly nature, is 
one among the many useful means resorted to by intelligent farmers to 
improve it and make it fit for cultivation. Land, when once improved by 
irrigation, is put into a durable state of fertility, and becomes so productive 
as to yield a large bulk of hay, and the after-math is also valuable. Tn favor- 
able situations, it produces very early grass, which, on that account, is doubly 
valuable. 

The main object of irrigation in tropical climates seems merely to be to 
3arry to the ground that quantity of water which is necessary for the growth 



bOILS : THEIR NATURE AND TREATMENT. 



63 



and notirishment of the plants to be produced ; but this species of irrigation 
is very different from that to which the term is applied in this country. In 
temperate climates, the purpose is not merely to supply the deficiency of 
water in the soil. The whole art of irrigation may be defined to be, the 
supplying a suflliciency of water during all the time the plants are growing, 
and, secondly, never to allow this water to accumulate so as to stagnate. 

The supply of water must come from natural lakes and rivers, or from 
wells and ponds. As the water must flow over the land, or in channels 
through it, the supply must be above the level of the land to be irrigated. 
This is generally the main object to be considered ; and the taking of the 
level is, therefore, the first step towards irrigating. The improved hydraulic' 
ram, seen in the annexed cut, is an excellent machine ; h represents the 
spring or brook ; c, drive or supply pipe, from spring to ram ; g, pipe 
conveying water to house, or other point required for use; b d a e i,the 
ram ; j, the plank or other foundation to which the machine is secured. 

Fig. 34. 




Channels. — Along the banks of running streams nature points out the 
declivity. A channel which receives the water at a point higher than that 
to which the river flows, may be dug with a much smaller declivity than 
that of the bed of the river, and made to carry the water much higher than 
the natural banks ; it may thence be distributed so as to descend slowly, and 
water a considerable extent of ground, in its way to rejoin the stream. This 
is a common mode of irrigation, and the shape, size, and direction of tha 
channels, are regulated by the nature of the surface, and other circumstances, 
which vary in almost every situation. 



64 



farmer's hand-book. 



Kind of Soils for the Purpose. — The soils most suitable for being watered 
are all those which are of a sandy or gravelly nature, as the improvement ia 
not only more immediate, but the effect more powerful, on those than on any 
other descriptions of land. It is of advantage that the soil should be incum- 
bent on a warm and absorbent bottom ; for the subsoil of watered meadows 
is considered of more importance than the quality or depth of the surface 
soil. The best watered meadows are sometimes those in which the soil is 
only a few inches in depth, especially when the bottom is porous. 

Waters Best Adapted. — With regard to the quality of the waters most 
suitable for irrigation, those of rivers which flow through a rich and culti- 
vated country are to be preferred, as they are enriched by the animal and 
vegetable matters which they receive in their progress, and which are 
contained in them in a state of solution. A considerable portion of these 
m.atters is left on the surface of the land by the waters passing over it, and 
it is thereby greatly enriched. Water from bogs is considered inferior, from 
the antiseptic (resisting putrefaction) quality communicated to it from the 
peat. Water impregnated with iron has sometimes been used with good 
effect. ■ ^ 

Fig. 35. 




Meadow Watering. — The above diagram represents a watered meadow. 
A. is the main conductor, b the wear placed across the river to intercept the 
course of the water, and c c c c are the feeders taken off as directed from the 
main conductor, at right angles to it, by which a constant flow of water is 



SOILS : THEIR NATURE AND TREATMENT. 



65 



maintained over the surface. The water is then carried off the meadow hy 
means of the small drains e e e e, passing between the intervals of the former, 
and communicating with the main drain d d, which again conveys the water 
to the river. The dimensions of these smaller drains are seen to be greatest 
where they respectively join the main conductor and main drain, being then 
about four inches deep and eight or ten inches wide, and gradually diminish- 
ing to a point, as seen in the figure. The dimensions of these drains, how- 
ever, as well as the distance between them, must be regulated by the extent 
of the ground to be gone over, and the nature of the soil. It is frequently 
necessary that the water should be collected and conveyed to another main 
conductor for watering a me.idow in a lower situation ; and when sligh* 
inequalities occur in the surface, or when it is wished to convey an addi 
tional quantity of water in any particular direction, stops are used for the 
purpose, which consist of small pieces of sods placed in the drains to cause 
the water to flow over. 

Preparing the Surface. — In the preparation of the surface for irrigation, 
it is usual to form it into low ridges, the feeders being on the crowns of the 
ridges, and the drains for carrying off the water in the furrows. The plan 
illustrated in the preceding figure is designed only for situations in which 



fig. 36. 



WrjlKC 'Y*^lir^ V /""'■'*"* ■''_^_*>'*'''AJ''&XJJj£ 




the inclination is not considerable. In the irrigation of lands with consid' 
erable inclination of surface, tha feeders cannot be carried along lengthwise, 
6* , E 



66 farmer's hand-book. 

as in the former case, but across the line of descent, so that the water flow- 
ing from one is intercepted by the next lower, and so on until it has covered 
the whole of the meadow. This is termed catch-work irrigation. Tho 
preceding figure is an example of irrigation where the soil is very porous, 
and gently inclined, the supply of water being abundant. A main carrier 
is led from the sluice (a) directly across the declivity (6), and side feeders 
(c) taken out from it at regular distances. These feeders have stops of 
turf, at regular distances (d), by which means the wateris dispersed. After 
watering a space of from twenty to forty feet in breadth, it is again collected 
by the small drains in the furrows, and returned lower down to another 
feeder. 

The Time to Operate. — The process of floating the meadow commences 
generally in the month of October, or as soon as possible after the after- 
math has been consumed, or the last crop of hay removed. The water is 
first kept upon the ground for periods of a fortnight or three weeks at a 
time. It is then let off, and the ground left perfectly dry, for five or six 
days ; and this process of alternate flooding and drying is continued for 
Bome time, care being taken to let off the water when it begins to freeze. 
As the spring advances and the grasses shoot forth, the periods of watering 
are shortened, so that the flooding shall not last more than a few days at a 
time. 

The formation and arrangement of surfaces for irrigation, however simple 
in principle, are, in practice, among the most difficult operations of agricul- 
tural improvement. Whoever, therefore, contemplates the execution of thia 
kind of work to any considerable extent, will find it desirable to consult a 
person experienced in the matter. 

9. Rotation of Crops. — The fertility or the barrenness of a soil de- 
pends upon its constituent parts. If it abounds in those elements which 
are necessary for the nourishment of the crops to be grown upon it, they 
will flourish, and yield abundant returns for the labor bestowed upon 
them ; but if any of those substances are wanting which constitute the 
peculiar food of the growing plants, the yield will be small, and the 
quality inferior. What one soil, however, may be deficient in, another 
may possess in abundance ; and hence it is requisite to adapt the crop to 
the soil ; though in doing so, care must be taken not to exhaust a gene- 
rous soil by growing the same crop upon it for a succession of years. 
Nature herself teaches us, that no soil which has been drained of those 
combinations of matter which form the appropriate food of the plants 
growing upon it, can continue to sustain them in a flourishing condition. 
Even the forests are compelled to yield to this great law, and, after a long 



ROILS: THEIR NATURE AND TREATMENT. 67 

term of years, one kind of timber will give place to another of a totally 
different character. 

The principles upon which a regular succession of crops is based, are: 
1. That all plants exhaust the soil, though in an unequal degree. 2. 
That plants of different kinds do not exhaust the soil in the same manner. 
3. That all plants do not restore to the soil a like quantity or quality of 
manure. 4. That all plants are not equally favorable to the growth of 
weeds. These principles, confirmed by experience, form the basis of an 
agricultural system, not only rich in its products, but rendered highly 
profitable by the economy of labor and manure ; and from them the fol- 
lowing deductions are a natural consequence: 1. That, however prolific 
a soil may be, it will eventually become exhausted under a long succes- 
sion of crops. 2. That, to a certain extent, each harvest impoverishes 
the soil ; the amount of depletion depending upon the proportion of nou- 
rishment restored to the earth by its refuse. 3. That the cultivation of 
one kind of plants should be followed by that of an entirely different 
variety. 4. That it is necessary to avoid returning too soon to the cul- 
tivation of the same, or analogous, kinds of plants on the same land. 
5. That it is very injudicious to raise in succession, on the same piece of 
ground, two varieties of vegetables, which admit of a ready growth of 
weeds among them. 6. That plants which draw their sustenance 
entirely from the soil, should be plentifully supplied with manure. 
7. That where a soil begins to exhibit symptoms of exhaustion, only those 
crops should be cultivated which will again restore to it the greatest 
amount of nutriment. 

Though the system of rotation is adapted to every soil, no particular 
rotation can be assigned to any one description of soil which will answer 
at all times ; much depending on climatic changes, and on the demand 
for different kinds of produce. But, wherever the system is properly 
carried out, and the several processes of labor whicli belong to it are well 
executed, land will very rarely become foul and exhausted. On clayey 
soils, beans and clover, with rye-grass, are generally alternated with 
grain crops ; and on dry loams or sandy ground, turnips, beets, potatoes, 
and clover. On rich soils, or such as are abundantly supplied with pu- 
trescent manures, this system of alternate husbandry is certainly most 
conducive to the plentiful production of food, both for men and animals. 
One portion of a farm would thus be always under grain crops, while the 
other portion was growing roots or cultivated grasses ; but, as the major 
part of arable lands cannot be preserved in a state of fertility with evea 
this kind of management, and as sandy soils, even though they be libe- 
rally manured, soon become incohesive under constant tillage, it is requi- 



68 FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 

site that the portion of the farm which is under cultivated grasses, should 
be pastured for two or three years, in order to give it time to recruit. If 
they require it, all the fields of a farm are thus treated in turn. 

Light and dry soils will not bear the same kind of crops which grow 
well on those of a more compact and moist character; and all the different 
kinds of soils require different rotations of crops. Each farmer, therefore, 
should establish a system for himself, based upon a thorough acquaint- 
ance with the character and properties of the land he cultivates. Intel- 
ligent agriculturists, whose lands lie at a distance from market, will 
endeavor to avoid the expense incident to the transportation of bulky 
products, by giving the preference to such crops of fodder, or of roots, as 
may be consumed on the land by live-stock ; it being much easier and 
less costly to carry to market a ton of hay in the form of beef, or a thou- 
sand bushels of corn, turnips, or potatoes, in that of pork, than to convey 
thither a like quantity of those products in their-Rutural condition. 

The following system has been very generally adopted by the most 
successful farmers, in the best cultivated counties of eastern Pennsylvania. 
After a grass or clover field has been mowed one year, and pastured the 
following spring and summer, it is ploughed up late in autumn, or in 
early spring, and planted with Indian corn. When this crop is cut down 
the succeeding autumn, the field is again ploughed, either then, or during 
the following spring, and sowed with oats or barley. Immediately after 
this crop is harvested, the ground is again ploughed up, well manured, 
and sown with wheat. Grass seed is sown over the wheat early in spring; 
but if timothy is designed to accompany the clover, the former is sown 
in autumn, and the latter, with orchard or herd grass, early in spring. 
The following spring, after the wheat crop has been harvested, ground 
plaster is sown on the land, in the proportion of one bushel to the acre. 
The same season the grass is cut for hay, and the next season it is pas- 
tured. In the autumn, the land is again ploughed and got ready for 
planting corn the following spring, and the same rotation proceeded with, 
in the same order; but where a farm contains a sufficient number of 
fields, and the grass is well set, it is usual to pasture it for two years 
before it is broken up for corn. In the first case it is a five, in the latter 
a six years' rotation. Lime or marl is frequently applied to the young 
grass as a top-dressing, after the wheat crop has been harvested, with 
very marked effect on the quantity of grass the first season ; and the suc- 
ceeding crop of corn derives more benefit from it than if applied directly. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE HEAVY OR FIELD CROPS. 

WHEAT — BARLEY — RYE THE OAT INDIAN CORN — BUCKWHEAT — THE PO- 
TATO — SWEET POTATO — SUGAR BEET — SUGAR CANE — CHINESE SUGAR CANK 

AFRICAN SUGAR CANE — COTTON — TOBACCO RICE — TEA — BROOM CORN — ■ 

MILLET — HEM P — FLAX — LUCERN SAINFOIN — THE TARE CLOVER THE 

GRASSES — MOTIVE POWERS FOR FARM PURPOSES. 

WHEAT. 

Classification. — Writers on agriculture enumerate something like one 
hundred varieties of wheat ; but the nice distinctions which are necessarily 
made in multiplying the sorts to such an extent are but of slight import- 
ance to the majority of farmers. The best mode of classifying the plants 
included in this order is by natural marks, that is, by the ear and by the 
grain. In this way confusion is avoided in describing the ear and the 
grain. The farmer who grows the wheat plant, and sells it in the grain, 
should be acquainted with both ; but the baker, who is only acquainted with 
the grain, need know nothing of the ear. Were he, however, to receive an 
ear of each variety of grain he purchased, he would be best able to describe 
at once, to the farmer, what particular variety afforded him the flour best 
suited to his purpose. 

An examination of the ears of wheat proves that they may be consistently 
divided into three classes, as represented in the following figure, and dis- 
tinguishable thus : — 

a is a close or compact eared wheat, which is occasioned by the spikelets 
being set near each other on the rachis, and this position makes the chaff 
short and broad. The second class of ears is seen at b, the spikelets being 
of medium length and breadth, and placed just so close upon the rachis aa 
to screen it from view ; the ear is not so broad, but longer than a; the chaff 
is of medium length and breadth. The third class is seen at c, the spike- 
lets of which are set open, or so far asunder, as to permit the rachis to be 
easily seen between them ; the ear is about the same length as the last 
specimen, but is much narrower ; the chaff is long and narrow. In d ia 
represented a bearded wheat, to show the difference of appearance which 
the beard gives to the ear. The term bearded is applied the same as spring 
wheat ; beardless wheat, however, is as fit for sowing in spring as bearded. 

and the bearded may be sown in winter. 

(69) 



70 



FARMER S HAND-BOOK 



In regard to classifying wheat by the grain, three heads may comprise all 
the varieties. (See Fig. 38.) The first class (a) is where all the grains 

Fig. 87. 




ore short, round, and plump. The second class (J), where the grains are 
long and of medium size. The third class (c), where the grain is large 

Fig. 38. 



and long to a greater degree than the last class. These three sorts are 
represented according to their natural size. 



THE HEAVT OR FIELD CROPS. 71 

Best Varieties for Cultivation. — The following are the names of the 
kinds of wheat most esteemed and cultivated in this country. White Flint : 
This is one of the most valuable kinds in the northern states. The heads 
are not too long, but well filled, with thirty to forty grains ; the kernel is 
white and flinty, large, and with thin bran ; the flour is very superior ; the 
perfect wheat weighs from 63 to 67 pounds the bushel. Harmon's White 
Flint : A variety improved from the above ; the berry is larger, bran very 
thin, flour superior ; this and the above are little injured by the Hessian 
fly, and will stand a good deal of wet weather. White Provence: Heads 
middling and bald, chaff bluish, berry large and white, bran thin, flour 
good ; it is early, but the straw is small, long, soft, and liable to fall. Old 
Genesee Red Chaff: An old favorite, but liable to rust and the fly ; red 
chaflT, bald, long straw, berry white and large, bran thin, superior flour. 
Kentucky White-bearded, Hutchinson or Canada Flint: White chaff, bearded, 
heads short but heavy and well filled, shells readily, berries round, short 
and white, flour very good ; it litters a little ; the straw is strong, but liable 
to injury from insects. Indiana Wheat: White chaflT, bald, berry white 
and large, bran thin, berry not so flinty as the white flint, but the straw is 
larger and longer ; shells easily ; is attacked by the insects, and it is more 
liable to be winter-killed. A variety of white wheat is much esteemed in 
western New York, which resembles an improved Indiana ; it is called 
Scotch Wheat. Virginia White May : White chaff, bald, and resembles 
the white flint in its growth and straw, though the heads are more clumped, 
the berry stands out more, and shells easier ; berry white and hard, bran 
medium thick, flour good; matures early. Wheatland Red: Red chaff, 
bald, heads of medium length, red berry, good flour, very hardy, bright and 
large straw, ripens early. Red Bearded: Red chaff, beards standing oul 
from the head, berry white, good flour, hardy, succeeds well after corn, oi 
on light soils. Mediterranean: Light red chaff, bearded, berry red and 
long, flinty, bran thick, inferior flour. Blue Stem: Has been grown in 
Virginia for about thirty years; white chaflT, bald, berry white, bran thin, 
superior flour, straw fair size and good pr.xluct. The Yorkshire or English 
Flint, or Soule's Wheat, mucli praised, is similar in its leading features 
to the old Genesee. 2he Egyptian, Emyrna, Reed, Many -spiked, or 
Wild Ooose Wheat. Crossing will produce new varieties. Propagation 
may be extended by separating the plants. 

Red wheat is usually grown upon the strongest clay land, and degen- 
erates when sown upon a soil of a lighter description. It is hardy, and 
as it is better adapted to insure the production of a crop on wet, adhe- 
sive soils, it is very generally sown on that class of lands ; but, on all the 



72 farmer's hand-book, 

better class of soils, the white or smooth-chaffed wheat is preferable, the 
thinness of the husk rendering it more valuable to the miller. 

Winter wheat is sometimes confounded with spring wheat, the only dis- 
tinction being in the different periods of ripening. The produce of wheat 
sown in the spring acquires the habit of ripening earlier than the produce 
of that sown in autumn. This distinction is not, however, an absolute or 
permanent one. 

Soils. — The soils best adapted for the culture of wheat are the rich clays 
and the heavy ioams, though thesg are not, by any means, the only descrip- 
tions of soils on which it may be cultivated. Before the introduction of 
turnips and clover, all soils but little adhesive were thought unfit for wheat; 
but even on sandy soils it is now extensively cultivated, after either of these 
crops. Such soils, however, are not constitutionally disposed to the growth 
of wheat ; nor will they, under any management, bear such a frequent repe- 
tition of it as those already mentioned. To bring wheat to perfection, a 
dr_y and warm season is required. 

Time for Sowing. — The season of sowing wheat depends on the crop to 
which it succeeds. It is sown before winter, when the land can be then 
prepared for its reception, as after fallow or potatoes ; and it is sown in 
spring after turnips, cabbages, and such other crops as are not removed off 
:he land till that season. The time of sowing must depend, also, on the 
state of the land, as well as the season. It is, however, generally recom- 
mended to put it into the ground as early as may be convenient in autumn ; 
and on strong soils it is not unfrequently sown in the latter end of Septem- 
ber, in the course of October, and the beginning of November. 

Seed Wheat. — Seed wheat is prepared by a process termed pickling, 
before being sown. This is intended to prevent rust, of which it is a pre- 
ventative. Various substances are employed as a pickle to wash the seed, 
the most common and useful being a solution of common salt in water, 
sufficiently strong to buoy up a fresh egg. After being freed from all 
foreign substances, the seed is dried, and, if not sown immediately after 
must be spread thinly over the floor, to prevent its heating. 

Culture. — When the seed is sown broadcast, it is covered by the action 
of the harrows sufficiently to cover the seed. A double turn along the 
ridge, a double turn across, and again a single turn along, will generally 
suffice, and oftentimes less than so much. As soon as the seed is hai- 
rowed in, the whole should be water-furrowed, to carry all excesB of 
moisture off the land, by means of the double mould-board plough, with 
one horse, passing along the furrows of the field, and the furrows of the 
head-lands. Open furrows are also to be drawn through such hollow parts 
as the water might stagnate in, care being taken to sink all inequalities, 



THE HEAVY OR FIELD CROPS. 



73 



that a passage may be afforded for the water to run off. The intersection 
of the furrows of the field with those of the head-lands are also to be 
cleared out, and cuts made occasionally through the head-lands. 

On the lighter class of soils, ploughing in the seed may be adopted. 
The seed is sown broadcast ; after which a shallow ploughing is given to 
the land, and, perhaps, a slight haiTowing. The horse-drill, now much in 
vogue, will plant wheat, rye, Indian corn, &c., on all kinds of lands. See 
figure. 

Fig. 39. 




Quantity of Seed. — The quantity of seed necessarily depends on the 
time and mode of sowing, and the state of the land ; land sown early 
requiring less seed than the same land when sown late, and poor land being, 
at all times, allowed more seed than rich ; also, when sown broadcast, 
more seed is given than when either dibbled or sown in drills. The 
quantity, therefore, varies from two bushels, or less, to as many as four 
Winter wheat, when sown in spring, should always have considerable seed 
Good and improved soils require less than soils not so good, and on the 
former the plants are less liable to be injured during the winter, and gener- 
ally all come to maturity. 

After-Culture. — The after-culture of wheat, or culture of the growing 
crop, is chiefly confined to harrowing, rolling, hoeing, and weeding. Har- 
rowing is found beneficial in penetrating the crust which is formed on 
tenacious soils, aqd raises a fresh supply of mould to the roots of the plants. 
Rolling in spring should be practised on drv, porous soils, which are fre- 
7 



74 FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 

quently left in so loose a state by the winter frosts, that the roots are throivn 
out of the ground, and perish. Hoeing is performed when the row-culture 
is adopted, to pulverize the intervals between the rows, and to check the 
growth of weeds. 

Cutting and Harvesting. — The grain should be cut immediately after 
the lowest part of the stalk becomes yellow, while the grain is yet in the 
dough state, and easily compressible between the thumb and finger. If cut 
at this time, it will yield itTOre in measure and weight, and a larger quan- 
tity of sweet, white flour. If early cut, a longer time is required for curing, 
before storing or threshing. The latter operation is usually done, by 
extensive wheat-growers, with a large machine, taken into the field, and 
driven by horse-power ; with moderate farmers, a small single or double 
horse-machine, or hand-threshing in winter. 

If the grain is perfectly ripe, and the straw thoroughly dried, and the 
sheaves free from grass or weeds, wheat may be cut and stacked or housed 
the same day. It must, however, be effectually cured in the fields. To 
save it from wetting, some farmers lay it in the form of a cross, surmounted 
with a sheaf so disposed as to throw off any slight showers that may fall ; 
others place it in shocks, the sheaves two and two, standing on their butts, 
the heads of the sheaves inclined to each other, and the tops spread out so 
as to shield the standing sheaves as much as possible ; others, again, place 
ineir wheat in the same position as the last, with the exception that all of 
the shock is left standing, and no sheaves are placed over the heads. Un- 
less very dry, it should be laid on scaflTolds, when taken into the barn, to 
prevent heating and moulding. When placed in a stack, it should be well 
elevated from the ground, and, if the stack be large, a chimney of lattice oi 

Fisr. 40. 




THE HEAVY OR FIELD CHOPS. 75 

open-work should be left from the bottom, extending to the top, to produce 
circulation. The straw or chaff yields good fodder, when cut or mixed 
with meal or roots ; it is also good for bedding cattle, for manure, and 
should never be wasted. The fan-mill, for cleaning grain, is too well 
known to be described in this place. 



Fig. 41. 




Enemies of Wheat. — Wheat is subject to various diseases, principally 
the mildew, smut, and rust. Mildew is indicated by the presence of certain 
minute plants of the order of fungi, which grow upon the stem and leaves, 
and doubtless feed upon and exhaust the juices of the plant. The preva- 
lence of heavy fogs or mist, drizzling rains, and sudden changes of temper- 
ature, have been assigned as the cause of mildew, and it has been found 
that open, airy situations are much less subject to it than low sheltered 
lands. To remove this destructive agent, the use of salt is highly recom- 
mended The quantity of salt per gallon is eight ounces, and the applica- 
tion is more effectual if frequently repeated, and does no injury to the 
pliints. If the application is not made during a cloudy day, it is best to 
defer it until evening. 

When wheat is infected with the smut, the farina of the grain, togethei 
with its proper coverings, and part of the husk, is converted into a black, 



76 farmer's hand-book. 

soot-like powder This disease does not aifect the whole of the crop, bo 
the smutted ears are sometimes very numerously dispersed through it. II 
the seed be prepared in the way already described, the disease will rarely 
prevail to such an extent as to affect materially the value of the crop. 

Rust is another vory prevalent disease, nearly allied to the mildew. It 
appears in the form of a brownish dust upon the stem, leaves, and seed, 
and, like the others, is-produced by a parasitical plant. 

The roots of the wheat plant are liable to be attacked by grubs and 
worms, the larvae of various beetles ; among these are the wire-worm, and 
the red-headed large white grub, the larvae of the May-bug, cockchafTer, 
or black bug. These often do much injury, and late ploughing is the best 
mode of destroying them, by thus exposing them to the frosts ; when they 
appear in the summer, they are sometimes destroyed by being attracted 
towards large fires, kindled for the purpose, and perishing in them. But 
the insects that attack the wheat while growing and in the ear are by far 
the most powerful enemies which it encounters. These insects are the 
Hessian fly and the wheat fly. The former has a black head, thorax, and 
wings, with a brownish body ; the latter is of smaller size, of a yellow 
color, and clear wings. (See Chapter on Insects.) 

BARLEY. 

Classification. — The natural classification of barley by the ear is obvi- 
ously of three kinds, — four-rowed, six-rowed, and two-rowed, as in Fig. 43. 

In Fig. 43, a is the four-rowed, or here or bigg ; c is the six-rowed ; 
and b the two-rowed. 

When classified by the grain, there are two kinds, here or bigg, and 
barley ; and though both are awned, they are sufficiently marked to consti- 
tute distinct varieties. In the here (Fig. 42, o), the median line of the 
bosam is so traced as to give the grain a twisted form, by which one of its 
sides is larger than the other, and the lengthened point is from where the 
awn has been broken off". In the barley (J)), the median line passes 
straight, and divides the grain into two equal sides, and whose shortness 
and plumpness give to it a character of superiority. Both kinds are repre- 
sented below, natural size ; — 

Fig. 42. 




THE HEAVY OR FIELD CROPS. 



77 



Fig. 43. 




In this country the two-rowed and the six-rowed are the varieties gen- 
erally cultivated, the two-rowed being the kind most esteemed. 

Kind of Soil. — The best soil for barley is a rich loam fiiiel}' pulverized. 
It will neither grow well on a sandy or a soft soil, nor on strong clays, such 
as are suitable for wheat. It is rarely made to succeed summer fallow, 
wheat being, in an especial degree, suited to follow that pi'ocess, and it 
being also the more valuable crop. For a like reason it seldom succeeds 
potatoes, as wheat may advantageously be sown at the period of the removal 
of the potato crop from the ground. But it succeeds turnips with greater 
propriety than any other crop, the turnip crop being cultivated on the 
lighter soils, which are the proper soils for barley. 

Barley ripens early in autumn, and it may, therefore, be sown later than 
any of the other corn crops in the spring. The best season may be said to 
be in the month of April or beginning of May. An increased quantity of 
straw is produced by late sowing, but the grain is surer the more early that 
the crop is sown. 
7* 



78 farmer's hand-book. 

Preparing the Land. — The preparation of land for barley is similai to 
that for wheat. After turnips, or other green crop removed in the sprirg, 
the land is to be ploughed once, after which the seed is to be immediatelv 
sown. Two ploughings, however, will be necessary when barley succeeds 
any of the grain crops removed before winter, and, in this case, the land 
should have been drilled up after the removal of the crop, to keep it dry. 
As it is found of great importance, with a view to speedy and equal vegeta 
tion, that the ground should be fresh and moist at the time of sowing, barley 
should then be sown as soon as possible after the seed-furrow is given. 

Sowmg. — The modes of sowing barley are either broadcast or in rows. 
The broadcast system is almost universally employed in the cultivation of 
this plant, unless in lands much infested with annual weeds, where drilling 
and hand-hoeing, and, sometimes, horse-hoeing, may be adopted with 
advantage. The quantity of seed varies from two and a half to three bush- 
els to the acre, according to the kind of seed used, the nature of the soil, 
and the time of sowing. Liberal sowing is most profitable ; and, when 
sown late in the season, and in dry weather, the seed is sometimes steeped 
in water for a day, to promote a more early and uniform germination. 

Culture. — The seeds of the clovers and grasses are sown simultaneously 
with the barley, the succeeding crop being invariably grass. In this case, 
the smaller seeds are sown immediately before the last turn of the harrows, 
and that turn covers them in. The land is to be rolled afterwards, in order 
to exclude drought, pulverize the soil, and cover the clover and grass seeds. 

Harvesting. — In the harvesting of barley more care and attention are 
requisite than in the case of any of the other grain crops, even in the best sea- 
sons ; and, in unfavorable seasons, it is almost impossible to save it without 
injury. Owing to the brittleness of the stem after it has reached a certain 
period, it must be cut down ; for when it is sutfered to stand longer, much 

Fig. 44. 




loss is sustained by the breaking off of the heads. On that account, it is cut 
at a time when the grain is soft, and the straw retains a great proportion of its 



THE HEAVY OR FIELD CROPS. 79 

natural juices, and consequently requires a long time in the field before 
either the grain is hardened or the straw sufficiently dry. 

Threshing and Dressing. — The threshing and dressing of barley are 
attended with more labor than is the case with any other grain, owing to the 
tenacity with which the covers adhere to the seeds. After being threshed 
in the ordinary way, it is a frequent practice to put the threshed grain a 
second time through the machine, accompanied by a portion of straw. 
Should this not accomplish the work effectively, then the hummelling 
machine (Fig. 44) is used. 

Uses. — Barley is used in Europe as a staple article of food. It is 
inferior, however, to wheat and rye. In this country it is principally used 
for malting and brewing, and for distilling. When ground, it is good for 
fattening stock, though more especially swine. 

Enemies. — The diseases of barley are few. It is sometimes attacked by 
the larvae of certain flies. It is also subject to smut, but of quite a diflerent 
character from that which affects wheat, and one which, it is found, cannot 
be prevented by pickling and liming. 

RYE. 
Varieties. — Of rye, there is, strictly speaking, only one variety, 
although it is usually divided into winter and spring rye ; but these are 
produced merely by the different periods of sowing, and resemble each 
other so much, that, when sown together, they cannot be distinguished. 

Fig. 45. 




Soil. — The soil for rye may be inferior to that chosen for wheat, and it 
will succeed with less culture and manure. The soils be-si snjtp^ tn ii» 



80 farmer's hand-book. 

grow'th are those which contain the gi-eatest proportion of sand, and there 
are instances on record in which it succeeded on land containing eighty-five 
per cent, of this substance. Those soils, however, which contain a less 
proportion of sand are preferable ; for, though it will grow upon ground of 
the poorest description, yet the produce will be more abundant upon good 
land, provided it bg„n()t of a clayey nature. In this country it is grown in 
the north-eastern and middle Atlantic states, and on the light lands of 
Ohio and Michigan ; and, as the supporting elements of wheat become 
exhausted in the soil of the rich agricultural states of the West, rye will in 
a great measure take its place on their lighter soils. 

Time for Sowing. — Rye may be sown either in the autumn or in 
spring, and, as in the case of wheat, the period of ripening is affected by 
that of sowing. The quantity ot seed may be two bushels and a half to the 
acre, but, when grown for straw plait, this quantity is more than doubled. 
^s it vegetates more slowly than wheat, it should be sown when the soil 
is dry ; otherwise, the grain is in danger of rotting in the ground before it has 
completely germinated 

Culture. — Rye, being sown upon light and poor soils, obtains less atten- 
tion in its production than wheat ; it also suffers less from being sown upon 
the stubble of another corn crop, or even upon its own ; and it is therefore 
not unusual to grow it successively two years upon the same land, but this 
is somewhat contrary to the principles of good husbandry, and cannot be 
recommended for imitation. 

The after-culture, harvesting, and threshing of the crop, are similar to 
those of wheat. The horizontal fan-mill, for cleaning grain, has been some- 
what popular in the Eastern States. 

The period of flowering is more decisive of the prospect to be entertained 
regarding the success of rye than in the case of any other grain ; and, until it 
be past, no opinion can be correctly formed on the subject. The ripening 
of the grain is earlier than that of wheat, and is denoted by the straM'^ losing 
somewhat of its bright yellow color, becoming paler, and the knots of the 
straw losing their green color. The corn then sheds easily from the ear. 
When allowed to stand until very ripe, a shower of rain will occasion it to 
sprout. 

Product and Uses. — The produce of rye is nearly the same as that of 
moderate crops of wheat, but seldom amounts to those which are very large ; 
the quantity of straw is greater than that of any other grain. It grows to a 
greater height than the straw of wheat, and, though thinner in the stem, is 
stronger ; but being hard and wiry, it is not esteemed for fodder, and the 
chief use of it is for thatch. It is also valuable to brick-makers, and is 
extensively used in the manufacture of straw hats. For the latter purpose, 



THE HEAVY OR FIELD CROPS. 



81 



it is sown very thick, pulled green, and blanched by exposure tc the air. It 
is also used both in the brewery and distillery ; and in many parts, after 
undergoing a species of bruising or coarse grinding, it is used alone, or 
mixed with barley, oats, beans, peas, or tares, which have undergone a 
similar operation, and formed into a kind of coarse bread, for feeding domes- 
lie animals, particularly horses. Its bread contains a less proportion of 
nutritive matter than that of wheat, but it is found to keep longer, and forms 
about the only bread eaten by the inhabitants of some countries where the 
soil and climate are unsuited for the growth of wheat. It contains a greater 
quantity of nutritive matter than either barley or oats, and the husk 
possesses an aromatic and slightly acid flavor, which renders it agreeable to 
the palate. The bran should not, therefore, be entirely separated from the 
flour, for, if the grain be ground fine, and divested of the husk, the bread will 
be deprived of much of its pleasant taste. When intended for consumption 
in the farmer's family, it is usual to mix a certain portion of wheat with 
the seed before sowing, or the mixture may be made after they are ground 
into .flour, which is the better practice. The proportions may be one third 
of rye and two thirds of wheaten flour, and this combination makes a 
sweeter bread than that made solely of wheat. 

Fi;'. 46. 




Eiiemies. — Rye ia subject to most of the diseases which attack the order 
of plants to which it belongs, such as rust, mildew, burned-ear, and smut- 
ball. But there is one remarkable disease, which, although it is sometimes 
found in wheat, is much more common in rye. It is called the ergot, the 
French name of a cock's spur, which the diseased grain resembles in shape. 

F 



82 



farmer's hand-book. 



By some perversion of the vital functions of the plant, the embryo, or 
germen, instead of growing into a regular setd filled with farina, shoots oul 
a long, black, fungus-like substance, several times the length of a (.-ommon 
seed, which rises above the chaff, and has the appearance of a slender pyra- 
mid, slightly bent on one side. This substance is soft, and easily broken or 
cut, and is unifori/i in its internal texture, without any husk or skin over it. 
It is not only destructive to the grain, but very poisonous when eaten mixed 
with the flour. 

Figure 46 is Pilkinton's machine for cleaning smutty grain, and to take 
out chess, onions, and heavy grit. 

THE OAT. 

Varieties. — Of all the cultivated grains, oats are the easiest of culture, 
and the most certain and prolific in their product. There are several 
varieties. Fig. 47 represents two of the most marked and useful. 

Fig. 47. 




That represented in the cut a is the While or Common Oat, known by 
its white husk and kernel, and is the kind most commonly cultivated. The 
Siberian or Tartarian Oat (fi) is a black or brown grain, thin, rather small, 
and turned mostly to one side of the panicle or ear. The straw is large 
and reedy, but it is usually very productive, and is well calculated for poor 
soils and exposed situations. The Red (Mt, known by its brownish-red 
husk, thin and flexible stem, and firmly attached grains, is an early variety, 
suffers but little from winds, makes good meal, and suits exposed situations 



THE HEAVY OR FIELD CROPS, 83 

and late climates. The Poland Oat is known by its thick, white husk, 
awnless chaff, solitary grains, short, white kernel, and short, stiff straw ; 
it requires a dry, warm soil, and is very prolific ; the black Poland oat ia 
regarded as one of the best varieties. The Dutch Oat has plump, thin- 
skinned, white grains, mostly double, and the large ones sometimes awned. 
It has larger straw than the Poland, but in other respects resembles it. The 
Potato Oat has large, plump, rather thick-skinned, white grains, double 
and treble, and with longer straw than either of the few preceding varieties. 
The Georgian Oat is a large-grained and very prolific variety. The 
Imperial Oat is the heaviest raised in the United States, and by many is 
preferred to all others; it is a clean, bright, plump, heavy grain, yielding 
a large proportion of flour and nutritive matter. It is hardy, and yields 
well in the Northern and Middle States. The Eygplian Oat is grown 
in large quantities south of Tennessee, and is very well adapted for the 
South. 

Soil. — The soil for the oat may be almost any kind whatever, from the 
Btiffest clays, to moss, or bog, provided it be laid sufficiently dry. They will 
produce well on reclaimed bog and mountain ; but as these usually grow 
straw luxuriantly, especially if they have been improved b.y paring and 
burning the surface, a green crop should be taken the first year, which will 
allow time for the active properties of the ashes to subside ; and the follow- 
ing year oats may be considered a certain and productive crop. 

Preparing the Land. — The preparation of the land for oats is less than 
for any other crop. It is almost always the first crop on newly broken-up 
lands, and, as it succeeds best on a soil not too finely pulverized, it is sown 
after a single ploughing. In regular rotations, oats are chiefly sown after 
grass. It is sometimes sown upon land not rich enough for wheat, that has 
been previously under green crop. One ploughing is generally given to the 
grass lands, which should be done as soon in spring as the state of the 
weather and the other labors of the farm will allow. When oats succeed a 
green crop, the preparation of the land is the same as that for wheat. 

Sowing and Culture. — The period for sowing oats is generally from the 
beginning of March to the middle of April. The month of March is consid- 
ered by many to be the best for seed-time. They are sometimes sown in 
February, also in the autumn ; but the crops sown at a later period of the 
season have, in most cases, been greatly more productive. The quantity 
of seeds is from four to six bushels to the acre. In sowing oats, the 
quantity must be regulated by the shape and size of the grain, as well as by 
the condition of the soil. Land sown with potato oats, for instance, requires 
less seed, in point of measure, than when any of the other sorts is used , 
first, because this variety litters better than any other, and, having no awns, 



84 



FARBIER S HAND-BOOK. 



a greater number of grains is contained in a bushel. Some varieties, too, 
are more leafy than others, and require to stand further apart ; in general, 
however, four bushels will be necessary on medium soils, and, in poor, 
upland soils, as many as six may be required. 

Grass-seeds iXiay be sown in spring with oats, in the same manner as with 
wheat or barley. The young clover and grass are, however, in danger of 
being smothered by the oat crop, unless when it is sown very thin. If, 
iherefore, through necessity, this system should be adopted, the oats should 
be sown thin, on well-prepared land, and the smaller seeds harrowed in 
when the plants are sufficiently strong to bear the surface being stirred. 
When the land is in a highly pulverized state, it may be better to sow the 
seeds of the clovers and grasses immediately before giving the last turn of 
the harrows for covering the oats. 

Being usually sown after grass land, oats are more apt to be overrun 
with thistles, and other large weeds, than any other crop. These are to be 
cut over with the weed-hook, or pulled up by the weeding clips, before the 
ciop comes into ear. 

Reaping. — The reaping of oats is performed with the scythe or sickle. 
It may, with great convenience, be performed with the scythe, and should 
be done when the grain becomes hard and the straw of a yellowish color. 

Fig. 48. 




The crop should be cut before it is dead ripe, to prevent the shedding of the 
grain, and to increase the value of the straw for fodder. 

Enemies. — The diseases of the oat are few. Sometimes it is attacked 
by smut, but more commonly by the wire-worm, or larvae of insects, which 
generally abound in newly broken-up lands. To guard against these, delay 
ploughing the land, especially if long in grass, until immediately before 
sowing. 



THE HEAVY OR FIELD CROPS. 



85 



INDIAN CORN. 
Varieties. — The varieties of corn cultivated in this country are quite 
numerous, distinguished by peculiar characteristics of the grain, cob, 
&c., and are frequently enunoerated and described as follows :— 

Fig. 49. 




Yellow Corn. — The Yellow Gourdseed, so called from the resemblance 
of its long narrow grains to the seed of the gourd ; this has 24, and occa- 
sionally even more rows. The genuine King Philip, with 8 rows ; a hardy 
plant. The Sioux, or yellow flint corn, with 12 rows ; also the Sioux 
variety grown in Pennsylvania ; also the Sioux and Gourdseed mixed, 16 
rows. 

White Indian Corn. — This includes the White Flint, White Flour Corn, 
and White Sugar or Sweet Corn, and the White Gourdseed. The Genuine 
White Flint is the twelve-row corn, raised in Virginia. The White Flint 
nas 10 rows. The Early White Flint, and White Flour Corn, has 12 rows. 
The Peruvian Corn has 8 rows. The Pennsylvania — called, in Maryland, 
Smith's Early White — has 8 rows. The New Jersey has 8 rows. The New 
York, 10 rows; and Mandan Indian Corn. The Early Sugar Corn, with 
shrunken grains, has 12 rows. 

Blood-Red Indian Corn. — Varieties are as follows: — Common-sized 
Haemetite, with 12 rows and red cob ; red cob with white grains ; red cob 
with yellow grains ; red cob with brown grains ; red cob with white 
gourdseed ; red cob with gourdseed and yellow flint ; white cob with red 



86 farmer's hand-book. 

grain ; speckled red and yellow grains on a white cob ; the same on a rod 
cob : the dwarf Haemetite, commonly called Guinea corn ; blue corn with 
10 rows; the celebrated Dutton corn, &c., &c. 

Of these numerous varieties, some are best adapted to the Southern Statea 
— the white and yellow gourdseeds ; others to the Middle States — the 
gourdseed and flint varieties, pure or mixed ; whilst the heavy flinty- 
giained kinds are almost exclusively cultivated in the Northern and Eastern 
States, to which they are specially adapted by their disposition to grow and 
mature with great rapidity, and thus accommodate themselves to the short- 
ness of northern summers. Like all early maturing corn, they are dwarf- 
ish, though very productive. The effect of the longer and warmer sum- 
mers, in more southerly situations, is to favor greatly the growth of the 
stalk. The time taken by different varieties in growing and maturing dif- 
feis exceedingly. In the Southern and Middle States the crop occupies the 
ground from five to seven months, whilst in the Northern and Eastern Statea 
the ears come to maturity in three or four months. 

Among the varieties of corn cultivated for special purposes are the White 
Flint, used for making hommony ; the Flour Corn, with a round, thick grain, 
filled with a snowy white powder, resembling starch, much used for grind- 
ing up with buckwheat, in the proportion of about one fourth or one fifth of 
the corn, giving the buckwheat-meal a lighter color, and otherwise improv- 
ing ii ; the Early Jersey truck corn, a middle-sized ear, with white and 
rather flinty grains, the earliest corn raised for the market, — two kinds, 
the white and the red cob ; and the Small Flinty-grained corn, usually 
raised for parching or popping. 

Preparation of the Land for Planting. — In the Middle States corn is 
planted in all conditions of the land ; but in Virginia and Maryland it gener- 
ally follows the wheat crop, upon which all the farm-yard manure has been 
spread. In the upper portion of Delaware and in Pennsylvania, the crop is 
generally put upon a grass sward or clover lay. Where the soil is a stiff 
clay, much labor is bestowed in ploughing deep, then rolling, and reducing 
to the finest tilth by means of harrows. As a general rule, after a sward 
has been turned, care is taken not to harrow so deep as to reach and drag up 
the sods, which are suffered to lie and decompose, thus furnishing nutriment 
to the corn, and keeping the ground loose and favorable to the spreading of 
the roots. Many farmers spread lime upon the land intended for corn, in 
the autumn or winter, previously to ploughing. Others put the lime dress- 
ing on the ploughed ground. 

Season for Ploughing. — With regard to the best time for ploughing, 
this must depend much upon the character of the soil. Late fall or winter 
ploughing has been thought useful in turning up and exposing to perish the 



THK HEAVY OR FIELD CROPS. 87 

^rubs and other insects which have retreated below the surface for winter 
quarters ; but in Pennsylvania this practice is now generally abandoned in 
tiivor of spring ploughing. 

The roller, when used, must be drawn in the direction of the furrows, 
and never crosswise. Then follows the drag-harrow, in the same direction, 
being the last instrument which, on flushed ground, is employed preparatory 
to planting. The harrowing should be continued until the surface of the 
inverted sward is completely broken up and pulverized. 

In the Middle States, it is customary to prepare the ground for corn by 
a method called listing, or double furrowing ; that is, ploughing so as at 
first to turn two furrow-slices together, leaving a middle space, which is 
afterwards ploughed out by turning an additional furrow on each side. 
This places the ground in narrow lands or ridges, consisting of four furrow- 
slices, with deep intervening trenches. The width from the middle of one 
land to the other is generally about four feet. In signing out for planting, 
a plough is run across these narrow lands, so as to strike out rows generally 
four feet apart. The plough which performs this cross-ploughing is imme- 
diately followed by a boy who drops four, five, or seven grains of corn 
directly opposite the middle of each of the ridges, and the operation of plant- 
ing is completed by a man who covers the seed with a hoe. Corn should 
be planted as early in the spring as the weather will permit. The usual 
time of planting in the Floridas is early in March, whilst in the Eastern 
States it cannot be done, as a general rule, before the middle of May. 

Planting. — After rolling, and then harrowing well, the rows are struck 
out very shallow, and the corn is planted in hills, 3, 4, 4^, or 5 feet apart 
or dropped in rows from three to five feet asunder, so as to leave the stalks 
when thinned out, about one or two feet apart. In this last case, the tillagf 
has of course to be conducted in the direction of the rows, and never cross 
wise, as is practised when the grain is in hills at regular distances. Whei 
the growth is high, and the soil rich, the rows should be further apart that 
where the growth is low, as is the case with the Northern varieties, whicl 
may be planted three feet apart. 

Manuring. — Whenever manure can be spared for the corn crop, it wil 
always make a good return. It may be spread broadcast upon the lami 
previously to ploughing, or, what is better, spread upon ground that ha;- 
oeen flushed up in the autumn or winter, and then lightly ploughed in. Ii 
the Northern and Eastern States, where the summers are short, a libera 
quantity of manure is generally required to assist in forcing the crop i< 
early maturity. When not enough is at hand to afford a good dressinr 
broadcast, it is advisable to apply a portion of short manure to each hi] 
just before planting. Ashes are an excellent manure for Indian corn, anr 



farmer's hand-book. 



Fig. 50, 



may be merely dropped upon the hills. It is common to make a mixture ol 
these with lime and plaster ; but there is no doubt that the main benefit of 
the mixture proceeds from the live ashes. Poudrette is also applied, and 
rtrith good effect — one gill to each hill ; it pushes the young corn forward 
with such rapidity as to place it very soon beyond danger from the grub, 
cut-worm, and other insect depredators. The same end may also be pro- 
moted by soaking the seed twenty-four or thirty-six hours in solutions of 
saltpetre, urine, the drainings of the stables and the cattle-yards. Strong 
solutions of copperas, blue vitriol, are sometimes used. To protect the seed 
against its enemies, some farmers soak the seed twelve to twenty hours in 
hut water, in which are dissolved a few ounces of crude saltpetre, and then 
add (say to eight quarts of seed) half a pint of tar, previously warmed and 
diluted with a quart of warm water. The mass is well stirred, the corn 
taken out, and as much plaster added as will adhere to the grain. This 
impregnates and partially coats the seed with tar. 

Nrtmber of Grains to the Hill, and Depth 
of Planting. — Where there is reason to ap- 
prehend much mischief to the young plants 
from blackbirds, crows, insects, and other 
vermin, it is best to plantfourto sevengrains 
in each hill, so that some of them may have a 
chance to escape. The deficiency is usually 
attempted to be made up by replanting otlier 
grain, but the product of this replant is too 
often feeble, and so late in maturing as to 
be frequently injured by the frost in autumn. 
A better plim is to replant with the surplus 
of other hills, though this requires a damp 
and very favorable condition of the weather. 
As to the proper depth of covering for the 
seed, much difference of opinion exists. 
The corn-planter here figured has the ad- 
vantage of pushing the grain down in the 
ground to the depth of four inches, where 
it leaves it covered up, and in close contact 
with the soil ; 4 tu 8 grains are deposited in 
each place ; the grains passing down from 
each corner of the machine. A deeper 
covering would either cause the grain to 
rot, or prevent it from rising. 
Tillage. — The corn once planted, its tender blade pushes through tho 




THB HEAVY OR FIELD CROPS. 89 

ground, usually in about a week or ten days, and even sooner when the 
seed has been soaked. Although the field is generally left at rest until the 
plants have all fairly risen above ground, before tillage of the crop is com- 
menced, some beg^n with the harrows even before the corn is up. The 
first objects to be effected are to keep the ground stirred and free from grass 
and weeds. Where danger is apprehended from worms, by which it is so 
frequently attacked, many maintain that the tillage should not commence 
very soon, so that, some other vegetation being allowed to start up, the 
young corn will thus be in a measure spared ; whereas, if the ground is 
perfectly clean, the worms, having nothing else to feed upon, will, of course, 
destroy all the young com. Instances may occasionally occur where this 
practice may prove disadvantageous, but, as a general rule, the young corn 
cannot be kept too clean, or the ground about it too loose. 

The modes of tillage vary exceedingly, not only with the variations in 
soil and climate, but with the views of different persons in the same 
locality. On stiff clay soils, there is no doubt that harrowing just before 
the proper time for the corn to come up favors this process, by loosening 
the tenacious soil, especially where a timely rain does not occur to soften 
the earth. After the corn appears, the harrow should be kept going until 
the ground is rendered perfectly loose, hands following with hoes or 
short rakes, to clear the corn which may be covered. Then comes the 
plough, which, in the Southern and lower portion of the Middle States, is 
often used to turn a furrow from the young corn. This operation is termed 
bar-ploughing, because the bar of the plough is run next to the plants. A 
few days after this, the process is renewed, and the mould-board being 
turned next the corn, the loose earth is thrown back again. Many think 
that this second ploughing, called moulding, ought not to be left longer 
than a few hours before the earth should be turned back again. In some 
places ploughs are still used for this purpose with wooden mould-boards, 
as these serve best to push the loose earth before them, crumbling and 
spreading it about the plants more advantageously than ploughs furnished 
with smooth and polished iron mould-boards. Some use narrow, deep-cut- 
ling ploughs, which do this work with comparatively little labor to the horse, 
and render the soil near the corn much more permeable by the roots, and at 
the same time quickly accessible to the rain and atmospheric influences. 
Whatever tends to favor the extension of the roots downwards, serves to 
place the crop beyond the vicissitudes of the season. There is, perhaps, no 
plant which withstands the effects of drought so well as Indian corn, whilst 
young ; but when its top blades begin to b^ heavy, its demands for moisture 
increase so as to cause it to suffer greatly from very dry weather. Heat and 
moisture are the great promoters of its growth 
8* 



90 



farmer's hand-book. 



The farmers in some of the finest districts in Pennsylvania have, of late 
years, made much less use of the plough, in cultivating their corn, than 
formerly. They now generally content themselves with moulding, or 
throwing a single furrow on each side of the young plants, leaving a space 
of from three to three and a half feet untouched. The space left is after- 
wards worked by means of shovel-ploughs, and cultivators (Fig. 51), which 
completely destroy the grass and loosen the ground. This mode of culture 



Fig. 51. 




i» more easily and economically performed than the old plan of ploughing 
the whole space between the rows, and leaving the surface completely level. 
If the land be sufficiently loose and deeply stirred, there is little use in hill 
ing it. It is sometimes said that corn requires hilling to support it. Nature 
disproves this, by the stiff, bracing roots thrown out by this plant at the 
time they are wanted, and for this very purpose. On wet lands, planting 
on ridges and hilling may be advisable, but such lands should not be chosen 
for corn. If wet, drain thoroughly, in the first place. Allow no weeds to 
grow, and do not fear to stir the surface in dry weather. Many farmers 
deem the use of the plough altogether unnecessary, and even injurious, and 
conduct the tillage of the corn crop throughout, first with the drag-har- 
row, and successively with the cultivator, horse-hoe, and hand-hoe. 

Thinning and Suckering. — As quickly as possible after it is ascertained 
that the plants are in a thrifty condition, and no longer in danger of being 
destroyed by the cut-worm and other enemies, they are thinned out, so a? 
to leave only two or three in a hill. Or, should they stand in rows or drills, 
the plants are left apart one or two feet. The operation of suckering takes 
place some time after thiiming, and consists in tearing off the side-shoots 
which often sprout from the bottom of the main stalk. It is tho>ight, how- 
ever, by many, that this practice is more hurtful than beneficial, injuring 



THE HEAVY OR FIELD CROPS. 



91 



the growth and development of the corn, ar-* lessening the product of both 
fodder and grain. 

Harvesting the Crop. — This is done differently in different parts of the 
country. In the Northern and Eastern States and Pennsylvania, the corn 
is usually cut off at the surface of the ground, as soon as the grain Iiiis 
become glazed, or hard upon the outside, and, whilst the blades are still 
green, put immediately into shocks, and thus left some time standing in th ■ 
field. The corn, after becoming sufHciently dry, is husked and cribbed, and 
the stalks, with all the attached fodder and husks, are used for provender. 
In the Southern and southerly portions of the Middle States, the corn is 
commonly husked in the field, the stalks having previously had the blades 
stripped below the ears, and the tops lopped off above the ears. When, 
therefore, the ear has been separated, the naked stalk is left standing with 
the husk, which is soon after eaten by the cattle. In some parts of the 
Western States, where the crops are extremely luxuriant, with the absence 
of facilities to get the grain to market, it is common to husk out and secure 
enough of the corn for family use, and then turn the hogs and cattle into 
the field, to consume the remainder. Cracked corn is obtained by means 
of the corn-cracker (Fig. 52), and is valuable in many cases. 

By the first of these me- 
thods, the crop may be se- Fig. 52. 
cured before the autumnal 
rains, with all its valuable 
fodder, and the ground 
cleared in time for a winter 
crop of wheat or rye. The 
juices retained by the stalk 
are sufficient to nourish the 
corn to maturity. By the 
second mode, there is always 
a loss in the grain product, j_ 
which is never so well filled ^ 
after the blades and tops ^^S 
have been removed in 
green state. 

Preserving Corn. — This is usually done by stowing away the ears, 
cleared from the husks, in small or narrow granaries, called cribs, the 
sides and ends of which are constructed of logs or laths, so as to leave 
spaces of about an inch, or more, for the circulation of air. 

Fig. 53 is a corn-sheller, and Fig. 54 a corn and cob-crushing machine 
now much in use. The first-named (Reading's Patent,) will shell from 
four hundred to five hundred bushels of corn per day. The crusher is 




92 



FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 



used at the South and West for the purpose of cracking or crushing the 
corn and cob together. 

Fig. 53. 




Fig. 54. 



Diseases and Enemies. — Besides the 
birds, cut-worms, wire-worms, &c., 
that we have .il ready alluded to, corn 
suffers from other diseases, the chief 
one being a dark or blue-black spongy 
growth, which sometimes takes the 
place of the blighted ear of corn. The 
mass sometimes grows until five or six 
inches in diameter, and is to be con- 
sidered a luxuriant or rank species of 
fungus. As the species of what are 
called parasitic plants, to which this 
belongs, are so readily destroyed by 
applications of common salt, there is 
reason to believe that soaking the seeds 
well in salt water, previously to plant- 
ing, or scattering salt over the grounds, 
■will prevent this disease. 
A reddish kind of rust sometimes appears on the leaves, but seldom does 




THE HEAVY OR FIELD CROPS. 



»3 



much apparent injury to the ears, unless it becomes extensive. However, 
the same rust sometimes fixes upon tlie stalks, and causes them to decay. 
When this is near the ear, or the decay is extensive, the plant produces but 
little grain. The cause is attributed by some to bruises and wounds in- 
flicted by inconsiderate cultivation, especially as the tassel, wrapped in ita 
own leaves, may be seen formed in the plant when it is quite young. It 
sometimes happens, as the effect of storms, that the pollen is blown or beaten 
off the tassel before all the silk has protruded from the ear. The conse- 
quence of this is a failure in the development of grains in the extremity, or 
other portion where the silk was deficient. It has been urged, among the 
reasons for allowing the suckers to grow, that, being later in tasseling 
and less exposed to high winds, they assist to promote the process of fecun- 
dation after the tassels of the main stalks have shed their pollen. As an 
evidence of this, it has been stated that the earliest ears are always best 
covered with grain, while those which push late often exhibit a quarter or 
a half of naked cob, — the consequence of imperfect impregnation. 

BUCKWHEAT. 

Description. — This is the grain produced by the Polygonum fagopyrum 
(a), tartaricum (b), and a few other species. 



Fig. 55. 




Soils. — This plant thrives well on soils which are too poor for all othei 
kinds of grain, either of the spring or summer varieties. It grows on dry, 
sandv soils, provided only that the drought be not felt precisely at the time 



94 farmer's hand-book. 

when the plant stands most in need of moisture ; it then yields as plentiful 
a crop as any otlier kind of grain ; but if the ground be in a situation some- 
what more accessible to moisture, the crop is so much the more to be 
depended upon. It also thrives on heath and marsh lands, provided the 
latter have been previously drained. It is cultivated to great advantage on 
clearings of this description, and is very useful in preparing the soil for the 
reception of other kinds of grain. In sandy districts, buckwheat is the only 
:jrop which succeeds when sown alternately with rye ; in such situations, it 
lakes the place of other fallow crops ; it is also sown on lands where rye 
has been grown. It, however, thrives better as a fallow crop on land 
which has been used as pasturage, or left in repose for a few years. On 
richer soils the plant grows more vigorously, but only in the stalk, rarely 
producing so much seed as when grown on proper soils. A small quantity 
of manure is advantageous to it, but a large quantity makes it grow too 
strong in the stem. When the land on which buckwheat is to be grown 
requires manuring, it is usual to give it only half the usual quantity, the 
remainder being reserved till after the harvest. Manure furnished by furz 
is particularly well adapted to this kind of grain. 

Culture. — The sowing of buckwheat, even on the lightest soils, must 
always be preceded by two ploughings, in order to destroy the weeds. On 
account of its sensibility to cold, — the slightest hoar-frost injuring it, — 
the sowing must be deferred till all danger of cold nights is over. The 
middle of May is recommended ; and, if sown later, it is liable to be 
attacked by the white frosts of autumn, before its seed is ripe. The quan- 
tity of seed sown on a given extent of ground is about half of that used in 
sowing wheat ; sowing more thickly is injurious. 

The success of buckwheat is considerably affected by the weather to which 
it is exposed in the several stages of its growth, — more so, perhaps, than 
any other grain. It requires dry weather immediately after sowing, and 
springs up during the time of the greatest drought ; but, after putting forth 
its third leaf, it requires rain, in order that its leaves may be developed 
before the appearance of the flower, which soon follows. During the long 
time for which it continues in flower, this plant requires alternate rain and 
sunshine to facilitate its growth and enable its flowers to set. The flowers 
drop off during thunder-storms, or even on the occurrence of electrical phe- 
nomena unaccompanied by rain. Violent easterly winds also cause it to 
wither before its flowers are set. After flowering, the plant again requires 
dry weather to bring all its seed to maturity at the same time, and insure 
an early harvest. The success of buckwheat is therefore somewhat preca- 
rious, depending not only on the general state of the weather throughout 
the season, but also on the time of sowing, a week earlier or later often 



THE HEAVY OR FIELD CROPS. 95 

making- a great difference. By sowing it in three or four different portions, 
at different times, a crop may be made sure of. The seed should be simply 
covered up with the harrow, and not in furrows, and requires no further 
attention than guarding it against the depredations of birds, to wiiioh it ia 
very subject. 

Harvesting. — The ripening of the grain is very unequal, for the plant ia 
continually flowering and setting. It must, therefore, be cut at the time 
wiien the greatest quantity of grain is ripe. It sometimes happens that the 
first flowers do not set, or that they produce nothing but barren seeds, des- 
titute of farina, while those which come out later yield better seed. But 
the grain will ripen, and even the flowers set, while the crop is lying on 
the ground after cutting, especially if rain fall. This occurrence is, there- 
fore, considered favorable. 

The produce of buckwheat is, therefore, uncertain. When it is sown 
after a corn crop, one good harvest may be expected in about seven years ; 
in the same interval, three medium and three bad harvests may be expected. 
But when sown on land which has been left in repose, or laid down to grass 
for a few years, we may reckon upon one good crop out of two. 

Uses. — Buckwheat furnishes an important article of food for man. As 
a fodder-plant, too, it is excellent, and, when cultivated for this purpose, 
may be depended upon as well as any other plant. It may either be given 
to cattle as green-meat, or else made into hay. It dries but slowly, but 
does not spoil when left on the ground without being turned. The culti- 
vator who wishes to raise it for this latter purpose should choose a year in 
which the plant has been particularly successful, in order to obtain a good 
supply of seed ; this, he will find, will yield him as good a return as any 
other. When raised for this use, it may be sown on the stubble of a corn 
crop, or, still better, after vetches which have been mown early in the sea- 
son to be consumed as green-meat. 

Another purpose to which* buckwheat has been applied, and for which it 
appears ,Jiirom the usual rapidity and exuberance of its growth, peculiarly 
adapted, is the ploughing down, to add fertility to the land. This can be 
done when the soil is too far exhausted to produce clover for a similar 
purpose. It is one of the most economical and convenient manures which 
the farmer can employ. A small quantity of seed, costing a mere trifle, 
sows a large surface, and gives a great crop. When in flower, first roll, 
and plough it in, and it will be soon converted into manure. This crop ia 
recommended as an effectual destroyer of that frequent pest of the field, 
called couch-grass, quick-grass, &c. For this purpose it must be sown a.s 
ear'y in the season as frost will permit, and, as soon as it gets into flower, 



96 FARMERS HAND-BOOK. 

rolled down, and turned under with the plough. Another crop is then 
Bown on top of the first, and harrowed in ; and, if the season be not unfavor- 
able, it will ripen and aiford a harvest before frost sets in 

THE POTATO. 

Propagating. — The potato may be propagated from its seeds, and it is 
in this way that new sorts are obtained ; or it may be propagated by plant- 
ing the tubers, in which case plants similar to the old are produced. The 
approved practice is either to plant the tuber entire, or cut it into pieces, so 
that one eye shall be upon each, the tubers to be planted being those which 
were taken up before the stems had begun to decay in autumn. 

Varieties. — The varieties of the potato are numerous, the most obvious 
distinctions being the early and the late. First : the earliest kind, used by 
gardeners, generally termed forced potatoes, and not intended for field- 
culture. Second : early kinds, which may be subdivided according to their 
order of ripening, as — the Early Shaw, American Early, Early Champion, 
and others, being the earliest sorts in cultivation ; the Early Red, Cape of 
Good Hope Kidney, and the Bread Fruit, an intermediate class. Third • 
the later kinds, forming the common subjects of cultivation in the field, 
such as the Red Apple, Bedfordshire Kidney, Lancashire Pink, and numer- 
ous others. Fourth : those of a large kind, but coarse, as the Late Cham- 
pion, Ox Noble, and the Surinam. Fifth: the different varieties of Sweet 
Potato. 

Soils. — The soils best adapted to the potato are of the drier and lighter 
class. In wet clays the return is inferior in quality and productiveness 
Deep, dark peat, often produces large crops ; and it is one source of great 
value in this plant, that it can be cultivated successfully even on soils of a 
peaty character. 

Culture and Tillage. — In the common course of farming, potatoes are 
cultivated by the plough, but they are frequently, also, and this, in many 
cases, with great convenience, cultivated by the spade ; thus, in woods in 
new countries, in plantations and steep banks inaccessible to the plough, or, 
in certain cases, in peat too soft to bear the treading of cattle, the spade may 
be beneficially substituted for the plough. Its cultivation, however, upon 
the larger scale of farm-culture, must necessarily be performed by the 
plough and the working cattle upon the farm. 

The potato forms a good preparative crop for any of the cereal or eatable 
grains, and it may follow any crop of corn. Sometimes potatoes are planted 
upon land newly broken-up from grass ; in this way they may be cultivated 
beneficially in regard to produce ; it is, however, a deviation from the 
general nile, that the potato should follow a crop of corn and be succeeded 



THE HEAVY OK FIELD CROPS. 97 

by one. As in the case of preparing land for the summer fallow, the land 
intended for potatoes is to be ploughed before winter, receiving a furrow of 
eight or nine inches in depth. The ploughing should be lengthwise, so as 
to keep the ridges dry, and prepare the ground for early tillage in the 
spring, at which time, as soon as the other labors of the farmer will allow, 
and the land is sufficiently dry, it is to be cross-ploughed, and harrowed by 
repeated double turns of the harrow in every direction. The roller also, if 
necessary, is to be employed to reduce the soil, and all the root-weeds are 
to be carefully collected by the hand, and carried away to be formed into a 
compost. The land is next to be ploughed in a direction crossing the last 
ploughing; or, rather, the ploughs may cross the field diagonally, because, 
as it is always desirable to make each alternate ploughing cross the pre- 
vious one, and as the next ploughing which forms the drills will be in the 
direction of the former ridges, all the ploughings will thus be made to 
traverse each other. When this second ploughing is given, the land is to 
be again harrowed and rolled, if necessary, and al'. the root-weeds are to be 
industriously collected and removed as before. 

The proper manure for the potato is common farm-yard dung, but any 
other putrescent manure that can be obtained may be applied. As soon as 
the dung is spread along the hollows of the drills, the potatoes are to be 
planted. The potato-sets should be cut ten or twelve days before planting 
them, by which the cut part acquires a skin or hard surface. The sets are 
placed directly upon the dung in the row, about ten inches from one an- 
other. The planters, carrying them in baskets, gently place them upon 
the dung, directed by the eye, as nearly as possible, at the distance required. 
A transverse section of the drills, with the dung and potato-sets placed 
upon it, will appear thus : — 

Fig. 56. 



The sets are now to be covered by splitting each drill so that the top of 
the new drill formed is immediately above the boiiom of the old one, and 
this simple series of operations completes the planimg of the potato. The 
usual period of planting is during the month of April, continued till the 
middle of May. The early potatoes should be planted earlier. 

In a fortnight or more after planting, the whole field is to be harrowed. 
The effect of this tillage is to partially level the ground. When the plants 
have got above ground, and appear distinctly in rows, the horse-hoe is to 
9 G 



98 



farmer's hand-book. 



pass along each interval ; and, following this, the hand-hoers, each with the 
common hoe, are to hoe the rows of plants carefully, cutting up all weeds 
&c. After an interval, as a fortnight or more, the horse-hoe, with side- 
coulters, is again to pass along the intervals. Immediately succeeding this, 
the hand-hoers are to follow as before. This is generally sufficient to clean 
the land in an effectual manner, though sometimes, when there are many 
weeds, a third hoeing may be necessary. The last operation is raising the 
earth to the stems of the plants. This is done by a double mould-board 
plough passing once along the intervals, and throwing up the earth towards 
each row. A transverse or cross section of the ground will then appear 
thus : — 

Fig. 67. 




This, in all cases, completes the culttire of the potato, the crop requiring 
no further attention unvil the tubers are ready to be taken up, when ripe, 
which may be done with a three-pronged fork, shovel, or a plough with the 
coulter detached, in dry weather and before frost. 

It has often been recommended to pinch off the blossoms of the late pota- 
toes, so as to prevent the formation of seeds, and to obtain a greater crop. 

Uses. — The starch or fecula of the potato may be obtained separately by 
simple means. It is perfectly nutritive, but does not undergo the panary 
or bread fermentation. It may be mixed with tlie llour of wheat in a given 
quantity, so as to produce good bread. 

It may be given in its raw state to nearly all our domestic animals. It 
requires merely to be washed, which is done by various simple means. But 
although potatoes may be given to live stock in their raw state, — and it is 
frequently convenient to give them in that state, — yet various benefits may 
arise from giving them steamed or boiled, and in this state they are relished 
by every class of domestic animals, affording food in a high degree nour- 
ishing. Even the dog will fatten upon them. Steamed potatoes, mixed 
with cut straw or hay, m2*y be given to horses of every kind; but it ia 
observed that steamed food is not generally so good for ruminating as for 



THE HEAVY OR FIELD CROPS. 99 

Other animals. To hogs they are given with the best effect ; also to poultry 
mixed with meal. 

Diseases. — The chief diseases of the potato are the curl, the worm, and 
the scab. The curl is indicated by the curling of the leaves, and their con- 
sequent diminutive size. To avoid this, seed from newly reclaimed or 
mountain land must be used. Using unripe tubers is also said to be a pre- 
ventative of the disease, and especially such as have not produced seeds. 

The worms sometimes attack the tubers in the ground, and greatly injure 
them in certain situations ; but they may be destroyed by spreading some salt 
on the ground before planting. The scab must be remedied by giving good 
tillage to the land. 

Independently, however, of the curl, and every other known enemy, a 
very extraordinary failure has taken place, since 1832, in the potato crop, 
extending, in many cases, over entire districts, and, in others, partially con- 
fined to portions of particular fields. This is generally termed the potato 
rot, and will be found treated at length in Chapter XII T. 

Potato-planter and Seed-drill. — This is a new labor-saving machine, 
consisting in the employment of an endless apron, placed beneath a 
hopper, and containing a series of cavities, by means of which potatoes 
of a proper size for seed are cnnveyed from the hopper to a discharge- 
spout, through which they fall into the furrow at regular intervals. 
Those potatoes which are too large for seed, are conveyed on the apron to 
a knife at the lower end of the hopper, by which they are cut to a suitable 
size. Thus, at one operation, the seed potato is cut, planted, and covered. 

SWEET POTATO. 

Description. — A perennial, low-creeping vine, the fine, tuberous roots 
of which are an esteemed esculent. Although a native of the Southern 
States, it flourishes also in the Middle States, but cannot be cultivated 
with profit north of the 41st degree of North Latitude. In the lower 
ciiunties of New Jersey, in parts of Delaware, and in the Southern States, 
it attains its highest perfection, and is in great request as an article of 
food. 

Varieties. — These are quite numerous, and chiefly distinguished by 
size and color, which latter ranges from a rich yellow to white and red. 
The weight varies from a few ounces to several pounds. 

Soils. — The soils naturally adapted to the sweet potato are those of a 
light, mellow, sandy character; hence its large yield in New Jersey, and 
others of the seaboard States. It refuses to grow in heavy clay, or stiff 
loam soils. 

Culture. — This plant was formerly propagated by Betting the tubers 



100 FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 

out in beds early in spring, whence they were subsequently transplanted 
to hills arranged at a distance of five or six feet apart, and the trailing- 
vines were not permitted to strike root. The great labor of planting and 
cultivating them in this mode, has, however, led many to abandon it, and 
resort to the ridge system of planting, which is thus managed. The 
ground must first be well broken up and harrowed, after which, with a 
plough, throw three furrows together to form a ridge, and finish up the 
ridges with a weeding-hoe, or fine rake, by drawing up the earth on both 
sides to about the usual height of potato hills. Then open a trench on 
the top of each ridge, drop in the slips five or six inches apart, and cover 
them with the soil to the depth of two inches. By this mode of planting, 
not only is 4ess ground occupied, but less labor also is expended in its 
preparation, and in planting the roots. When the crop has matured, 
clear away the vines, and turn a furrow from both sides of the ridge, 
when the potatoes can be readily taken out with the hands, or by the use 
of the hoe. 

Preservation of the Crop. — Place the roots in a dry cellar, the same day 
they are taken out of the ground, and cover them up close with chafi", or 
dry earth. During very severe freezing weather, close the windows of 
the cellar entirely. 

GROUND PEAN'UT. 
This legumine (the Arachis Ilypogw^a of naturalists) is very profitably 
cultivated in many of the Southern States. It succeeds best on light 
sandy soils, where it produces from twenty to forty bushels. It also 
furnishes a good lot of forage. It is sown in drills about four feet apart. 
Soon as possible after plants appear, they should be worked with a light 
plough. They quickly spread over the surface. The blossom is of a 
light yellow ; and, singular in this respect, the seed pod grows into the 
earth, where the seed matures. When ripe a fork is used to loosen the 
soil, when they are hand picked, dried and stored under cover. 

SUGAR-BEET. 
Soil. — The sugar-beet requires a deep, rich mould, somewhat retentive 
of moisture, but yet not tenacious. Its richness should proceed less from 
the use of manure at the time of sowing, than from the effects of previous 
applications. The sweetness for which these beets are so much esteemed, 
depends in a great measure on the quality of the soil ; those grown in 
poor, light soils, having usually an earthy taste. There are some lands 
in which the superior varieties will not attain their ordinary size, or even 
acquire a tolerable flavor, while in the same locality, inferior varieties 
will be produced, which have an excellent taste. 



THE HEAVY Oil FIELD CHOPS. 101 

Culture. — Plant in rows, at a distance of two feet six inches from each 
other, and at intervals of twelve inches in the rows. Deep ploughing 
and pulverization of the soil are essential to the full development of the 
root. Put the seed in the ground during March or April, and carefully 
tend the plants during the early stages of their growth, clearing out all 
weeds, and thinning the plants where necessary. Moist weather is the 
most suitable for performing these operations, and a cultivator may be 
used with advantage. 

Manufacture of Sugar. — From the root of this variety of the beet, 
sugar of a very superior quality has been made in the United States; 
but, to insure its profitable production, the manufacture should be con- 
ducted on a large scale. In the extraction of sugar from the beet root, 
seven different processes are used, which we shall endeavor to describe. 
Before proceeding to do so we may here remark that besides the fact 
that beets are very much liked for their culinary uses, tliey are pro- 
bably the most certain crop for feeding to stock that can be grown. 
The best cattle seen at Smith Field are so fattened. 

Cleansing the roots. — This is done by washing them in long, wooden 
cylinders, having open sides, which, by the aid of steam-power, revolve 
rapidly in large cisterns filled with water. The roots are thrown in at 
one end of the cylinder, carried around a spiral screw, and ejected at 
the opposite end. This is, however, a very imperfect mode of cleaning 
them ; for, if the roots have been grown in a stiflF soil, large masses of 
earth will still be found adhering, which will not only prove injurious to 
the teeth of the crushing rasp, but will also lessen the value of the cake 
as food for cattle. The large roots being frequently hollow, and much 
decayed at the crown, the acid generated by this putrid matter injures 
the saccharine yield. Matter of this character cannot be removed by any 
process of washing; and nothing proves so eflfectual ns tiie knife, with 
which all impurities may bo scraped away, or cut off, those parts only 
being retained which will yield a superior quality of sugar. The ends 
of the tap-roots, as well as the lateral fibres, both of which are not 
only useless for the production of sugar, but positively injurious, should 
be excised, and fed to the cattle and hogs, which will greedily devour 
them, together with the scrapings of the roots. 

Crushing or Rasping. — Except where maceration is practised, this 
operation is always performed by the aid of the rasp, which is a wooden 
cylinder, the outer circumference of which is armed with steel saws, 
placed transversely at a distance of half an inch apart. In width it is 
asually about thirteen and one-half inches, and in diameter about twenty- 
three inches. Driven by steam-power, these rasps make 900 revolutions 
9* 



102 FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 

in a minute, and crush into a smooth pulp between 5000 and 6000 pounds 
of the root per hour. 

Pressing the Pulp. — Instantaneous fermentation being a result of the 
heat engendered during the process of rasping, no time is lost in pressing 
the juice out of the pulp, which, as it falls from the rasp into a square 
box placed beneath, is removed by a deep wooden or copper shovel, and 
put into a bag. This is then conveyed to a wicker frame, placed upon a 
hand-barrow mounted on wheels, the pulp spread evenly in the bag, and 
the mouth of the latter doubled down, to prevent the escape of pulp when 
on the press. Over this is placed another wicker frame and another bag, 
until the pile contains thirty or forty bags and as many frames, when the 
whole is placed on a wooden platform, resting on the bed of a hydraulic 
press, and pressure applied. After the juice has all been extracted, the 
pressure is removed, the bags emptied of the dry cakes, and the press 
made ready for another load. A pair of these is always required, so that 
while one is in use, the other may be in preparation. The juice flows 
into a cistern constructed beneath tlie floor, whence it is at once pumped 
into a defecating pan, which is so placed that the contents may flow out 
through a pipe into the evaporator. 

Defecation is conducted in a copper pan, to which, after it has been 
nearly filled with juice, heat is applied by means of fire or steam. At a 
temperature of 162° Fahrenheit, cream lime is added, in exact proportion 
to the amount of the contained acid, which is ascertained by chemical 
tests. The lime is intimately mixed with the juice, by stirring the solu- 
tion with a wooden spatula, after which it is allowed to rest, and the heat 
raised to the boiling-point, when the ebullition is suddenly checked by 
shutting off the heat. When the juice has settled, and become clear, it 
is drained off into the first evaporator, — the scum and sediment being 
carefully excluded. These are subsequently poured into bags and pressed, 
to extract the juice contained in them, after which the residue forms a 
valuable addition to the dung-heap. 

Evaporation. — The clear, defecated liquor flows into a copper pan, 
called the evaporator, until it is about one-third full, when a small quan- 
tity of animal charcoal is added, and heat applied. If the juice threatens 
to overflow the pan during the process of boiling, the addition of a small 
quantity of tallow causes its immediate subsidence, and facilitates 
evaporation. 

Clarifying. — This is done in copper pans, thirty inches deep, twenty 
inches in diameter near the top, and eleven inches in diameter near the 
bottom ; each one being furnished with a small brass spigot at the lower 
end. A copper strainer, supported on three feet, and covered with can 



THE HEAVY OR FIELD CROPS. 103 

vass, fits into each clarifier near the bottom, and on this about one hun- 
dred pounds of powdered animal charcoal is placed. This is covered by 
another copper strainer and cloth, on which the sugar is permitted to 
flow until the pan is filled. After an interval of some time, the discharji;e 
spigot is opened, and the syrup allowed to flow out slowly into a cistern, 
from which it is pumped up into the condenser for a final evaporation. 
The pans are carefully refilled as rapidly as they are emptied. Twice 
each day the charcoal is thrown out of the clarifiers, and replaced by 
fresh coal from the kilns. As some of the saccharine matter remains in 
the carbon, the latter is then used to receive the juice from the defecator 
as it passes into the first evaporator, and the sugar thus extracted. The 
charcoal is then washed, and again calcined fur future use. 

Concentratio7i.— After the clarified syrup has been evaporated in the 
condenser until it marks 41° on the saccharometer, its fitness for crystal- 
lization is tested by drawing some of it out between the finger and thumb. 
If the thread breaks, and the end draws up towards the finger in a hard 
mass, it is ready for the purpose. Sometimes it is tested by blowing a 
portion of the syrup through the holes of a skimmer, when, if it be sufla- 
ciently tenacious to form air-bubbles, which, on falling to the ground, 
burst, and crumble into a white powder, the fire is immediately with- 
drawn, and the syrup drained ofl" into large coppers, placed in the air, 
where it is allowed to cool for about two hours, during which time it is 
occasionally stirred to promote a thorough and regular cooling of the 
whole mass. It is then run off into flat [lans, made of tinned iron, in 
•which it is left to crystallize, in a cool situation, for twelve hours, or even 
longer. These pans are subsequently removed to a stove, in which they 
are stood on end, to allow the molasses to drain off; and, in about twelve 
days from the first operation, the sugar is ready for a market. About 
one-tenth of the contents of each pan being saturated with molasses, thia 
portion is separated from the rest of the cake, mixed with the molasses 
which has drained from the pans, reduced with water to 17° of the sac- 
charometer, evaporated to 21°, and again sulijected to the clarifying pro- 
cess. Being then concentrated to 41°, it furnishes second quality sugar, 
which, if well made, equals that of the first quality for refining purposes. 
Wlien suflSciently concentrated for crystallizing, this second quality syrup 
is poured into the coolers, whence it is removed to cone-shaped earthen 
pots, in which it is allowed to cool for a time, and subsequently placed 
in a stove. In twenty-four hours the stoppers are withdrawn from the 
pots, and the molasses allowed to drain off. Six weeks afterwards this 
Bugar is ready for market. When the loaves of sugar are taken out of 
the moulds, the apex of each is found to contain a considerable quantity 



104 



FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 



of molasses. These portions are broken off, reduced by water, and treati'd 
as before described. All the scum which rises during the boiling process 
is carefully removed, and washed with water, to obtain from it all the 
contained sugar; and this water being again used to reduce the impure 
Bugar from the pans, nothing is lost. 

Proportions of Lime used. — Ki the commencement of the sugar-making 
season, when the roots are fresh and good, 4 pounds of lime are sufficient 
for the defecation of 225 gallons of syrup ; but, as the season advances, 
more lime is required, until, at length, when vegetation has commenced, 
7, and even as much as 8 pounds are necessary for the purpose. There 
is then danger of an excess of lime, which is usually taken up by an acid, 
added when the syrup is undergoing the final condensation. Sulphuric 
acid, reduced by water, in the proportion of 44 parts of water to 1 of acid, 
is used for this purpose — the precise quantity being ascertained by 
chemical tests. If a greater quantity is added than is requisite to neu- 
tralize the excess of lime, the sugar is objected to by the refiners, as its 
use subjects them to much inconvenience and some loss. 

SUGAR-CANE. 

Description. — The sugar-cane [Saccharum officinarum,) is a perennial- 
rooted plant, very susceptible to cold, and consequently restricted in its 
cultivation to the zone between 35° and 40° on each side of the Equator 
In the United States, its cultivation cannot be advantageously pursued 

Fig. 58. 




higher up than about the 32d degree of North Latitude, and the cane 
here dies down annually, unless cut before frost sets in. Like the bamboo 



THE HEAVY OR FIELD CROPS. 105 

and Indian corn, the sugar-cane belongs to the family of the grasses. It 
attains the height of from six to twelve feet, and is surmounted by a ter- 
minal panicle, one to three feet long, of a grayish color. This hue is 
derived from the long, soft hairs, surrounding the flower, which, with the 
lengthy, broad leaves, impart to the plant a beautiful appearance. The 
stems, filled with a spongy pith, are very smooth and shining, and the 
flowers, which are small and very abundant, are covered externally with 
the before-mentioned silken haii's. It flowers in the West Indies after 
the lapse of a year, though rarely ; but never in Louisiana ; consequently 
the seed can seldom be procured, except by importation from Otaheite or 
China. The development of seed interferes with the production of sac- 
charine matter. 

Varieties. — Several varieties of cane are grown in Louisiana and the 
West Indies — the Otaheite, the Brazilian or Creole, the Bourbon, the Fed 
Ribbon, the Blue Ribbon, the Yellow Ribbon or Java, the Green Ribbon, 
and the Grer/. The two first are most extensively cultivated in the West 
Indies, while the others are confined to the sugar districts of the Southern 
States. The Red Ribbon is best suited to the climate, all the others being 
readily affected by cold ; but it degenerates very rapidly. In Louisiana 
the sugar-canes " rattoon," that is, produce a new growth from the roots, 
for two or three years in succession ; but the planting must be renewed 
every two or three years, though in the West Indies, where a similar 
course of rattooning is pursued, a plantation Lasts from six to ten years. 

Soil. — A rich alluvion seems best adapted to the sugar-cane, and it 19 
grown on both the red and black lands of the Island of Cuba. The 
former appears to be composed of coral reef, in a disintegrated state, 
mixed with vegetable carbon and oxide of iron, which imparts to it the 
red hue. The latter, a rich black mould, evidently of vegetable origin, 
and probably the remains of old swamps, produces canes of a very supe- 
rior character, which yield a better sugar than those grown on the red 
soil. It is a very exhausting crop, and the rich lands of Louisiana have 
become so much exhausted by a continuous cultivation of sugar-cane, that 
they are only kept in tolerable condition by the application of costly fer- 
tilizing compounds. The adoption of a judicious system of rotation would 
have prevented this result, and must yet be resorted to as the only means 
of reclaiming the land, and restoring it to its original fertility. 

Planting and Rattooning. — In Louisiana, as also in the West Indies, 
new canes are not planted every year, as, owing to the absence of frosts 
in the latter region, and the usual mildness of the winter in the former, 
the roots retain their vitality for years, and continue to produce canes 
equally as good as those cut from the first planting. This system of 



106 FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 

culture is commonly designated " rattooning." In making selection of 
plants from which to make cuttings, those with healthy, succulent tops, 
are preferable to the hard, woody ones, and much benefit is derived from 
exchanging cuttings with neighboring plantations. In renewing a field, 
the canes are usually planted in rows — a space of six feet in width being 
left between each row. A series of holes is made in the ground in a 
direct line, in each of which two joints of cane are deposited, and the 
earth loosely drawn over them. Two are planted in each position, to 
guard against the possibility of one failing to germinate. Beyond an 
occasional hoeing, the sugar-cane requires but very trifling attention. 

Securing the Crop. — Seizing the canes with their left hands, the oper* 
tors draw them forward, and, with a single blow of their mach6tes, or 

Fig. 59. 



cane-knives, cut them off close to the root. Then stripping them of their 
leaves, they divide them into two or three pieces, and throw them aside 
to be collected by the women and children, who load them into the carts 
which carry them to the mill. 

Crushing the Cane. — When a sufficient number of canes have been cut 
to supply juice enough to fill all the kettles and clarifiers, the process of 
manufacture is commenced by crushing the canes between powerful rol- 
lers, to which they are fed by an endless series of slats. The juice flows 
into a pan placed beneath the mill, whence it is conveyed to the clarifiers, 
or pumped up into a receiver, and distributed where required. After 
passing through the mill, the crushed canes are conveyed away by 
another endless apron, from which they are taken, and spread in the 
sun to dry. When properly cured, they are stowed away in sheds, and 
furnish a supply of fuel for the succeeding year. 

Testing the Strength of the Juice. — A quantity of the juice, as it flows 
from the mill, having been collected in a copper vessel called a " test- 
dipper," the "saccharometer" is plunged into it, and the height at which 
it floats carefully noted. The saccharometer is a hollow tube, with a 
bulb at one end, loaded with shot, to keep it in an upright position. It 
has a scale of degrees marked on it, rising from 0° up to 50°, and, when 
placed in pure water, it stands at 0° of the scale. As each degree markg 
19 parts in 1000 of the solution to be tested, if, when plunged in i\ 
juice, the saccharometer indicates 10°, the contained sugar may be knowr 



THE HEAVY OR FIELD CROPS. 101 

to equal 19 per cent., and so in proportion for each additional degree. 
If the juice is thin, it will mark the same on the saccharometer, either 
in the hot or cold state ; but, as a cold syrup will mark more than one 
which is hot, it is necessary to add three degrees for the hot syrup, ia 
order to ascertain its density after it has cooled. Four degrees must be 
added for syrup containing molasses. When recently expressed, cane 
juice is opaque, frothy, of a yellowish-green, and sometimes of a greyish 
color, and consists of two parts, easily separated by filtration — one being 
a perfectly transparent fluid, of a pale yellow color ; the other a dark 
green fecula, which rises upon the boiling liquid in the form of scum* 
The specific gravity of the juice usually fluctuates between 10° and 15° 
Baum6 ; and this difference in density depends on the age of the cane, 
the climate in which it is grown, the nature of the soil, the character of 
the season, the temperature of the atmosphere, etc. 

Defecation. — This operation is conducted in pans, placed over flues so 
arranged that the heat can be shut oflf from one of the pans without 
interfering with the others. As soon as the receiving-tank is full, the 
juice is conveyed into the defecating pans by a wooden gutter, and, when 
slightly warm, a sufiicient amount of cream of lime is added to neutral- 
ize the free acid, and to assist in coagulating the vegetable albumen con- 
tained in the solution. With the increase of heat all the impurities rise 
to the surface in the form of a thick, dirty crust, leaving the clear juice 
below. On the first appearance of ebullition the dampers are closed, 
and the juice allowed to stand about twenty minutes, when it is drawn 
off from the bottom, and conveyed to the first clavifier; after which the 
defecator is cleansed, preparatory to receiving another charge. When a 
sugar-boiling train is in full operation, one defecator is always full while 
the other is being cleansed. 

Clarifying. — This process is conducted in two iron pans, lined with 
sheet copper, which are placed much nearer the fire, but higher up than 
the defecators. They are both in a line with the flue ; but the first, 
which is the largest, and most remote from the fire, is placed about two 
inches lower down than the second. Both pans being surrounded by a 
gutter, whatever overflows from the second during ebullition finds its 
way back into the first, and all the impurities which escaped removal in 
the defecators, and which are skimmed from the boiling liquid in the 
clarifiers, pass through an opening at one side of the gutter into a scum- 
kettle, placed alongside of the train. As soon as it settles, all the good 
eyrup is again returned to the first clarifier by the aid of a pump, with 
which the scum-kettle is furnished. The juice, after being thoroughly 
purified in the clarifiers, is next conveyed to the evaporators. 



108 FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 

Evaporators. — These are also two in number, the first being the 
largest, and placed next to the second clarifier. The smallest, which is 
directly over the furnace, is called the " teach." Both these pans .are 
surrounded by a copper curb — that around the smallest pan being the 
hi"-hest. This prevents the syrup from the first evaporator boiling over 
into the second, while at the same time it allows the overflow from the 
"teach" to find its way back into the first evaporator. The ebullition 
being most violent in the " teach," owing to its position directly over the 
fire, its contents are reduced very rapidly ; but it is continually reple- 
nished with syrup bailed from the first evaporator, which is supplied in 
turn from the second clarifier, that from the first, and the first from the 
defecators. When the "teach" is filled with a rich golden-colored fluid, 
which has ceased to froth, and from which the steam escapes in short 
puffs, the sugar-master tests its condition by taking a little of the syrup 
between his finger and thumb, and drawing it out in the form of a string. 
If sufiiciently boiled to " strike," the fire is withdrawn, and the syrup 
bailed into a gutter, by which it is conveyed to the coolers, distant about 
ten feet from the " teach." 

The Coolers are oblong troughs, usually about ten feet in length, five 
in breadth, and twelve inches deep, made of two-inch pine-boards. They 
are arranged in a double row, parallel with the train, and each has suffi- 
cient capacity for three " strikes," all of which are not run into one 
cooler consecutively, but into three coolers alternately, until that number 
are filled, when three more are brought into use. While cooling, the 
sugar is agitated with a small wooden rake, which is drawn through the 
mass once after each " strike." This promotes crystallization, and in a 
few hours the sugar sets or grains. A few days subsequently the sugar 
is dug out of the coolers, and carried in tubs to the purging-house, where 
it is emptied into hogsheads, the bottoms of which are perforated, to 
allow the molasses to drain away. 

Purging. — When the sugar enters the purging-house, it is a dark brown 
mass, containing about forty per cent, of molasses; but, if the house be 
even moderately warm, this soon commences to drip into a tank placed 
beneath the open joists upon which the hogsheads rest. As the sugar 
settles down, the hogsheads are replenished, either with sugar which has 
already been purged, or with fresh material from the coolers. At the 
expiration of a month, or thereabouts, the hogsheads are headed up, and 
stored, or sent off to the place of shipment. 

Clayed Sugars, requiring a different process for their purification, are 
produced in the following manner: The floor of the purging-house ia 
covered with boards, pierced with holes sufficiently large to receive, and 



THE HEAVY OR FIELD CROPS. 109 

hold upright, conical moulds made of clay or metal, each fiaving an aper- 
ture at the small end. These holes are stopped with a plug of wood or 
cane, and the moulds filled with sugar which has been boiled to a greater 
consistency than that intended for the coolers, and then agitated for some 
time in a wooden box, to facilitate its cooling, and promote the formation 
of crystals. Each mould will contain between eighty and one hundred 
and twenty pounds of hot sugar. When the contents of the moulds are 
•well crystallized, the plugs are removed, and the molasses allowed to flow 
out. This operation is much forwarded by pouring over the sugar in 
each mould a thin, creamy paste, made of porous clay, diluted with water, 
which has the effect of washing the crystals of sugar, by the percolation 
through them of the water from the clay, while the latter remains on top 
in a solid mass, which may be removed without injury to the sugar, after 
it has parted with all the water. This operation may be repeated several 
times, but at the expense of the quantity of sugar, which is washed away 
in proportion as it is purified. When removed from the moulds, three 
kinds of sugar are comprised in each loaf: a mixture of sugar and mo- 
lasses at the apex of the cone, next brown, then yellow, and, at the base, 
white sugar. These different grades of sugar are separated, and either 
crushed between rollers, or pounded into fragments with a mallet, pre- 
paratory to being dried over a fire, or in the sun. It is then ready for 
market, and is the sugar commonly used by refiners. 

Boiling hy steam is now practised on many plantations, and has several 
advantages over the old process, though much more costly. Vaporization 
is conducted more rapidly by this method, and the color of the sugar pro- 
duced is much lighter, whilst all danger of overheating is obviated. 
Steam is applied, either by coils of pipe, or by a series of tubes, through 
which it operates on the bottoms of the pans. 

Boiling in vacuo, the apparatus for which was invented many years 
since by Lord Howard, is a more complicated and more expensive pro- 
cess tiuin boiling by steam. The apparatus is merely a closed metallic 
vessel, from which the air and condensed steam are discharged by pumps 
as fiist as generated by the heat beneath. As water boils in a vacuum 
iit 90°, it follows that the low temperature at which water can thus be 
discharged from solutions of sugar, materially assists in preserving the 
color of the product, and as granulation will take place to some extent in 
the vacuum pan, if the process be properly conducted, the sugar when 
discharged will be full of grain, and soon become solid at a slightly lower 
temperature. 

Yield. — From 3000 to 6000 pounds of sugar have been produced per 
acre in the West Indies ; though in Louisiana about 1000 pounds is con- 
10 



110 



FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 



sidered an average crop, with 20 gallons of molasses. The crop has, of 
late, considerably diminished, owing, it is thought, to the exhaustion of 
the old seed-stock, and efforts are being made to introduce new cuttings 
from the West Indies and South America. The real cause is, most 
probably, the continual cropping to which the land has been subjected 
for a long period, and new canes will not restore vitality to an exhausted 
soil. 

Chemical Components of Sugar. — Modern chemistry has developed the 
fact, that there is very little difference between the components of sugar 
and those of many other substances which it is totally unlike — as starch, 
saw-dust, linen rags, &c. Water and carbon, the principal constituents 
of sugar, are found united in the like proportions in all these substances; 
and an eminent chemist, some time since, procured an ounce of sugar 
from a pound of linen rags. 

CHINESE SUGAR-CANE, OR SORGHO. 

Description. — The Chinese sugar-cane (by some botanists classified as 
the Holcus saccharatus, and by others as the Sorghum saccharatum,) 




shoots up a long, straight stalk, interspersed with knots, from which 
spring, alternately, long, wide, tapering leaves, which curve gracefully 
downward at the ends. The stalk tapers gradually from the base upward, 
and is covered with a very smooth coating, resembling somewhat that of 
Indian corn, which becomes harder with age. It flowers in a panicle aX 



THE HEAVY OR FIELD CROPS. Ill 

the top, changing from green, the primary color, to successive shades of 
violet, and finally to purple. The seeds, vs'hioh at first are merely soft, 
green husks, fill with farinaceous matter as they mature, and become 
plump and hard. The stem varies in altitude under different circum- 
stances, and, in a deep, black loam, reaches the height of sixteen feet ; 
but, on the poorer soils, it ranges from six feet upward. The root, 
which is very strong and hard, in an open, porous soil, sends down its 
fibres to a great depth. The entire plant very much resembles broom 
corn in the early stages of its growth, and cannot readily be distinguished 
from it except by experienced persons. It endures cold much better 
than Indian corn, and does not sustain injury from the ordinary autumnal 
frosts. 

Soil and Climate. — These very nearly correspond with those adapted 
to the growth of Indian corn, and the sorgho grows luxuriantly in rich 
bottom lands, or in moist loamy soils, well manured. Experiments made 
in Algeria, Fr.ance, and the United States, have, however, demonstrated 
that the best results are obtained on loose, deep soils, of a sandy char- 
acter, 80 situated that they can be irrigated at pleasure. Irrigation 
should only be practised during the early stages of growth, and when the 
cane is most rapidly developing, as, at a later period, it proves delete- 
rious by impeding the elaboration of saccharine matter, and increasing 
the per centage of water. It will also produce a fair crop on dry, gravel 
soils, too poor to yield a remunerative crop of other plants. 

Culture. — Plough deep, and hai-rowthe ground carefully, so as to break 
up and pulverize all the clods. Subsoil ploughing is very beneficial, as 
the soil is thus loosened to a considerable depth, and allows the delicate 
radicles of the growing plant to descend through the interstices. When 
the ground has been properly broken up, prepare the seed for planting 
by soaking it for twenty-four hours in tepid water, to which saltpetre has 
been added in moderate quantity; seeds deprived of the hulls germina- 
ting in much less time than those sown with the hulls on. In northern 
latitudes, the saving of four or five days in spring is a matter of consider- 
able importance to a plant of such slow growth as the sorgho. Sow the 
seed in rows, about the same time as Indian corn. Let the rows be four 
feet apart, and leave an interval of eighteen inches or two feet between 
the plants in the rows. One seed is suflBcient to deposit in each place, as 
each one sends up several shoots, or seed-bearing stems. Cover them 
lightly with earth ; and, after the plants have attained the height of twelve 
or fourteen inches, turn up a furrow against them with the plough, after 
which, use the hoe frequently to keep them clear of weeds. If cultivated 
with the view of obtaining the seed, or for the purpose of extracting the 



112 FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 

Bujrar, the sorgho is planted in hills, like Indian corn ; but, if it is in- 
tended for fodder, a larger yield is obtained by resorting to the drill- 
system. One quart of seed will suffice for an acre, planted according to 
the first-named system ; but a much larger quantity will be required for 
the last. Fifty to sixty bushels of seed have been obtained from a single 
acre of canes, and between nine and ten tons of dry fodder. During the 
first few weeks after it is planted, the sorgho makes but little progress, 
except in penetrating the soil with its roots; bnt it usually matures in 
ninety days, and, at farthest, in one hundred and twenty. 

Uses as a Fodder Plant. — When grown for fodder, two and three cut- 
tings may be obtained from it — the first being made just before the 
period of blossoming. The plant immediately sends up new shoots, its 
leaves are renewed, and its flowering panicles expand with great rapidity. 
This is a property also possessed by Indian corn, but in a much more 
limited degree. Though -the milk of cows fed upon it is measurably 
decreased, yet the quality is greatly improved, and the animals gain in 
flesh. Fed to cattle in the green state, it does not produce those symp- 
toms of flatulency frequently resulting from the use of green corn or 
succulent clover. The plant in its natural state is a wholesome and 
nutritious food for animals ; yet, after the sugar has been extracted from 
it, it proves positively injurious. Nothing being then left but the indi-. 
gestible woody fibre, it collects in large masses in the stomach, ulti- 
mately causing the death of the beast which has unguardedly been fed 
upon it. 

Curing the Fodder and Saving the Seed. — Cut the stalks in the morn- 
ing, after the dew has evaporated ; and after they have sufficiently dried 
on the gmund, tie them up in bundles, shock them up in the field, and 
let them stand thus for some time before stacking them or putting them 
in the barn. In whatever situation they are finally placed, a free circu- 
lation of air must be secured through the whole mass, to prevent it from 
heating. If grown for the seed, and to make sugar, one set of hands 
should strip off the leaves, a second 8«t follow after, and cut off the seed- 
top, with one or two feet of the stalk, while a third set cut up the cane 
close to the ground, and throw it into piles, to be conveyed to the 
crusher. The seed-heads, after being made up into small bundles, must 
be hung up in a dry place, until an opportunity offers for stripping the 
seed, which can be done with the machine used for broom-corn. The 
coloring matter contained in the hulls of the seed is so easy of separa- 
tion that the tissues of the poultry fed on it assume a purple color, and 
their excrements are dyed of the same hue. This coloring matter, which 
18 tasteless and innoxious, may possibly hereafter prove useful in the 



THE HEAVY OR FIELD CROPS. 



lU 



arts. The flour made from the grain has a violet hue, which disappears 
wheji carefully bolted, but again becomes apparent when manufactured 
into bread, which, however, digests very well, and is pleasant to the 
taste. 

Making Sugar on a small scale. — Cut the canes just after a hard frost, 
as they will then yield a larger per centage of sugar. Kemove the upper 
joints, as they contain but little sugar, though they will furnish good 

Fig. 61. 




molasses. The stalks should he passed thronjjih a crusher (Fig. 61) seve- 
ral times, in order to completely express all the contained juice. As 
the juice comes from the mill, filter it through a blanket, for the pur- 
pose of removing the fibrous matters, cellulose, and starch ; then add a 
BuflBciency of cream lime to render it slightly alkaline, which may be 
10* H 



114 FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 

ascertained by testing it with litmus paper. Boil the juice until a thick 
green scum rises to the top, vehich must be removed with a skimmer, 
and the liquid again filtered. Then boil the solution rapidly until it has 
lost half its bulk, when the fire must be diminished, and the syrup con- 
stantly stirred, to prevent it from burning at the bottom. After it has 
attained the consistence of ordinary sugar-house molasses, which may 
be known by taking a spoonful out and allowing it to cool, the syrup 
may be drawn ofi" into tubs, and left to granulate, which will usually 
occur in three or four days. The syrup may be clarified by the addition 
of one ounce of bone-black to each gallon of the solution, and boiling 
the whole together. Filtration will then exhibit a syrup which is nearly 
colorless : the sugar made from which will be of a very lijjht brown 
color, but may be whitened by the method described under the head of 
Sugar-Cane. When bone-black is not used, the sugar, after granulating, 
may be put into conical bags, made of very coarse canvass, and suspended 
over shallow vessels in a room where the temperature ranges between 
85° and 90° Fahr. In a week or ten days the bags will be found to con- 
tain good brown sugar. Dissolve this in hot water, and to every 100 
pounds of sugar add the white of one eg<; niixed with cold water. Boil 
for half an hour, skim carefully, and filter, to remove the coagulated 
albumen. For the manufacture of sugar on a large scale, the general 
process is the same as that pursued in the extraction of sugar from the 
West India cane. 

Alcohol is also produced from the sorgho, by fermentation and distil- 
lation in the usual way. By crushing the seed and stalks together, a 
double yield may be secured ; for, on maceration with hot water, the 
heat acts upon the starch contained in the grain, and transforms it into 
sugar, while the residue of the juice from the canes will produce good 
alcohol. 

Vinegar. — The raw sap of the sorgho, like all saccharine juices, will 
rapidly take on the acetous fermentation, and furnishes a very superior 
vinegar. For this purpose, bruise the stalks in a mill, throw them into 
a quantity of water suflBcient to cover them a few inches, and let them 
ferment at leisure. The vinegar must be racked off once or twice, to 
remove from it all foreign substances. 

AFRICAN SUGAR-CANE, OR IMPHEE. 

Description. — This plant, similar in appearance and general character 
to the sorgho, was discovered in the Island of Natal, in the year 1854, 
by Mr. Leonard Wray, through whose instrumentality it has been intro- 



THE HEAVY OR FIELD CROPS. 116 

duced into the United States. Under favorable circumstances, one acre 
of the cane, ■will yield about 4000 pounds of dry sugar; and, if the plants 
are permitted to mature their seed, twenty bushels of grain may be gath- 
ered from one acre. This grain makes excellent flour, and may either be 
so used, or be fed to cattle and poultry. 

Varieties. — Fifteen different varieties have already been noted by Mr. 
Wray, who thinks there are yet many more. Planted in a rich, alluvial 
soil, the largest attains a height of ten or fifteen feet, and requires from 
four to five months to mature. The seed-head, which is of considerable 
size, contains many thousand seeds, of a sandy-yellow color, and gene- 
rally measures from twelve to eighteen inches in length. By the aid of 
very imperfect machinery, sixty per cent, of juice has been obtained from 
the stalks, yielding fourteen per cent, of sugar, fully equal to the best 
West India cane sugar. 

Soil. — The Imphee will flourish in almost any soil, but arrives at 
greatest perfection in a rich alluvion, or in a loamy soil, containing a 
tolerably large admixture of vegetable mould. The latter description 
of soil, strong heat, and considerable moisture, are deemed essential 
to the proper development of the plant, and the plentiful production of 
its saccharine matter. The occurrence of dry weather a short time pre- 
vious to its maturity, not only materially increases the yield of juice, but 
also the amount of sugar. The use of animal manures, salines, and am- 
monia, is considered to be injurious, because, though tending to the 
formation of larger plants, they render the juice so mucilaginous and 
saline, as totally to unfit it for the manufacture of sugar. 

Rattooiiing. — In a warm climate, a crop of rattoons will be produced 
in six or seven months from the period of planting the seed, thus doubling 
the yield in that space of time. 

Culture. — To expedite the germination of the seed, soak them in warm 
water twenty-four hours before planting ; then, having marked off the 
land into rows at a distance of three feet apart, plant the seed at inter- 
vals of twelve inches in the rows. This distance should never be lessened, 
but rather increased, as each seed will send up from ten to twenty stalks, 
forming a large stool, which occupies considerable space. Keep the 
plants free from weeds by the use of the cultivator, and turn a furrow 
against the roots as soon as the plants have attained a sufficient height. 

Uses. — Imphee can be made available for all the purposes for which 
sorgho is used, and the experiments which have been made with it in 
the United States, would seem to indicate a larger yield of sugar from it 
than can be obtained from the sorgho. 



116 fakmer's hand-book. 



THE COTTON^ PLAJSTT. 



^ Description.— TYie cotton plant (the generic name of which is Gossyp- 
ium,) ordinarily grows to the height of five feet, though it sometimes in 



Fig. 62. 




very fertile soils, attains doable that altitude. In general appearance it 
somewhat resembles the okra plant, but it is more branching ; and the 
leaves, which are hoary and palmate, with sub-lanceolate, and rather 
acute-lobes, are smaller, as well as of more uniform shape. The long 
and jointed branches are occasionally bifurcated, and at each joint bear 
a boll or capsule, containing the wool and seed. The filamentous sub- 
stance, called cotton, consists of tubular hairs which arise from the sur- 
face of the seed-coat. They become flattened by drying ; and if, while 
in this state, they be immersed in water, and examined by the aid of a 
microscope, they exhibit the appearance of ditinct, flat, narrow ribands, 
with occasional joints. Each boll is accompanied by a broad, indented 
leaf, which springs from the same joint, and rests upon a foot-stalk three 
or four inches in length. The blossom, which is two or three inches 
long, and cup-shaped, is white during the first day after its appearance, 
but gradually becomes red. It closes slowly, and is soon after detached 
by the growth of the young boll, when it withers and is cast off, leaving 
the boll enclosed in a capacious calyx, having three divisions, with ser- 
rated margins. The woody part of the plant, which is white, brittle, and 
spongy, is covered with a thick, brown, pliable, and tough bark. The 
root, which is tuberous, penetrates deeply into the soil, and, as a conse- 
quence, the plant is much less afEected by drought than many others. 

Varieties. — The different varieties of gossypium may be classed under 
four distinct species : Gossypium indicum, or herbaceum, indigenous in 



i 



THE HEAVY OR FIELD CROPS. 117 

China, India, Arabia, Persia, Asia Minor, and some parts of Africa, 
2. Gossypium arboreum, a tree-cotton, indigenous to India. 3. Gossypium 
harbadense, the Mexican or West India cotton, of which the Sea Island, 
Upland, and New Orleans are varieties. 4. Gossypium Pertwianem, or 
accvmiiiaium, yielding the Peruvian, Pernambuco, Maranham, and Bra- 
zilian cotton, and especially distinguished by its black seeds, which 
adhere together very firmly. The principal varieties cultivated in the 
United States are the Sea Island {G. arborexim), known as the "long 
staple," from its fine, white, silky appearance, and long fibres ; the green 
seed {G.herbaceum), or " short staple," known in commerce by the name 
of upland cotton ; and two kinds of Nankin or yellow [G. barbadense) — 
the Mexican and Petit Gulf. Beside the varieties above enumerated, 
three others are classified by botanists: G. vitifolium, or vine-leaved 
cotton ; G. hirsutum, or hairy cotton ; and G. religiosum, or spotted-bark 
cotton. 

Soil. — The best cotton lands are those having a deep, soft mould, which 
may be readily penetrated by the rays of the sun. These imbibe with 
facility the stimulating gases abounding in the atmosphere, and allow all 
excesses of moisture to sink so deep beneath the surface, as to be in a 
position to do no injury to the delicate roots of the young plants. Land 
which is sandy and spongy, equally with that of a hard, close, and reten- 
tive character, is entirely unsuited to the proper perfection of the cotton 
plant. 

Culhire. — Cotton is most successfully cultivated in the lower parts of 
Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and in Texas. The winter is 
usually mild in these States, with very slight frosts ; and the summer, 
though hot, is tempered by the sea breeze, which prevails during a great 
part of each day. Various systems of planting are followed in the 
cotton-growing States, but that most generally adopted is the ridge. 
The land, after being properly ploughed and harrowed, is thrown into 
ridges about four or five feet apart, from centre to centre; and a furrow 
being run in the middle of each, the seed is deposited at intervals, vary- 
ing, under difi"erent circumstances, from six to twenty-four inches, and 
pressed into the loose soil with the foot. In rich river grounds, the rows 
are frequently six feet apart, and the plants distant three feet from each 
other in the rows. Planting generally commences about the 15th of 
March, and the proportion of seed sown is about one bushel to the acre, 
which leaves a margin for accidents by worms and otherwise. When 
the plants come up they are carefully weeded, and the cultivator or a 
harrow run through them to keep down the growth of grass. The har- 
row illustrated in Fig. 63 is useful in keeping the ground open, and clear 



118 



FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 



of weeds. A light furrow is then turned against the plants, to cover up 
and effectually destroy the young grass which has escaped the hoe. Ir 

Fig. 63. 




''\\^-^^ v-V&li^r'X^- 



rough ground, where there is danger of covering up the plants with the 
plough, hoes follow after, to remedy any mischief which may have been 
done. As soon as the plants have acquired sufficient strength to with- 
stand drought and defy the worm, they are carefully thinned out by 
hand, only the strongest and most likely being allowed to stand. The 
general rule is, to keep the earth loose and well stirred; working deep 
and close at first, but more shallow and remote as the crop approaches 
maturity. It is of importance to work the ground late, and cultivation 
never ceases until the branches of the plants interlock with each other. 
Ten hands are considered enough to cultivate 100 acres of cotton with 
ease ; but a good crop requires at least twenty hands to pick it. Some 
planters top their cotton, while others never do so. Whether the prac- 
tice is beneficial or otherwise, has not yet been decided — no observations 
having been made as to the practical result. Interchangeable husbandry 
is required by no plant more than cotton, and nowhere is it more essen- 
tial than in the Southern States, where continual cultivation during the 
dry weather of spring and summer, conjoined with the rapid growth of 
the plant, break up the soil, and leave it in a condition to be washed 
away by the first violent autumnal rains. Rotation with cereals is, how- 
ever, productive of no good, as the latter require, in a great measure, the 
same kind of food from the soil ; and hence soils which fail to produce 
cotton, are alike incapable of growing grain crops. Judicious green 
fallowing is the easiest as well as the cheapest mode, not only of renova- 
ting, but also of preserving cotton lands in good condition. Fields 



THE HEAVY OR FIELD CROPS. Ii9 

intended for fallow should be ploughed as deeply as possiVile in mid- 
winter, and all descriptions of stock should be carefully excluded from 
them. In spring sow them with turnip seed, and, when the leaves of 
the young plants are fully formed, turn them under with the plough, 
and sow a second time. Three or four crops may thus be ploughed in 
during one season, greatly to the benefit of the land, as by the decom- 
position of vegetable matter carbonic acid is produced, which is a 
powerful solvent of phosphated alkalies; and, by the turning under 
of those grasses and weeds not readily decomposable, a degree of fria- 
bility is imparted to the soil which will enable it to profit from atmo- 
spheric action. 

Manures. — As the cotton plant draws upon the soil for a very large 
amount of the phosphates, potasii, and lime, the manure applied should 
be such as will return to the earth the same kind of material. Cotton 
seed contains all these substances in large quantity; but, as a sufficiency 
is not produced for the purpose, other articles must necessarily be brought 
into use. The refuse of manufactories will supply the potash, while 
bone-dust will furnish the phosphates, and Peruvian guano the nitro- 
genous compounds. Every planter, however, has the ability to supply 
from his own plantation a large portion of the manure necessary for the 
sustenance of his crops, and this he may do with very little trouble. 
Instead of hauling the stalks from the corn and cotton-fields into the 
barn-yard, they may be more profitably ploughed under at once, thus 
allowing their elements to return immediately to the soil, without being 
subjected to loss from evaporation. Their place in the compost-heap may 
be supplied by litter, leaves from the forest, grasses, weeds, and muck 
from neighboring marshes, as well as from the ditches and fence-rows on 
the plantation. Weeds abound in alkalies, and therefore furnish profit- 
able vegetable matter, while muck and peat, being decayed vegetable 
matter in mass, in this concentrated form contain a large amount of 
pliosphates and alkalies, which, when mingled with the droppings of 
animals, form a highly valuable compost. The compost-heap must be 
well protected from the weather, or the soluble salts will be washed out 
by the rains, and evaporated by the heat of the sun. Wood-ashes form 
an excellent manure, and gypsum may be used with success on cotton 
lands distant from the sea. 

Picking. — The boles of cotton mature and open about the last of 
August, or during the first week in September, when the operation of 
picking commences. This work is done both by male and female hands, 
each one being provided with a bag, slung over the neck and shoulders, 
into which the cotton is put as fast as it is gathered. Large osnaburg 



120 FARMEU'S HAND-BOOK. 

sheets are placed at convenient points, into which the bags are emptied 
when full. The general average for each hand ranges from forty-five to 
fifty pounds per day. The freshly-picked cotton is dried upon scaffolds, 
each of which is not over four feet in width, to allow it to be turned with 
facility while drying. If rain threatens, tiie scaffolds are conveyed to 
the cotton-house, near which they are always placed. After being per- 
fectly dried, the cotton is prepared for market by separating the wool 
from the seed. 

Whipping the Cotton. — The first machine through which cotton is 
passed is called a " whipper," and consists of a cylinder six or eight 
feet in length, made of slats, reeds, or wire. One end is closed, and the 
other open. The centre of the cylinder is traversed by a shaft, inter- 
sected with rods reaching to within an inch of the sides. The cylinder 
is placed in an inclined position, and the cotton fed into it from a hopper 
resting upon the upper side, near the top, which is closed. The shaft 
being turned by a crank, the cotton, as it falls from the hopper, is 
whirled round by the rods until it issues from the lower end of the 
cylinder — any contained dirt, sand, or leaves having meanwhile escaped 
through the open sides of the " whipper." The cotton is then carried 
to the gins. 

Ginning. — Two kinds of gin are employed — one, called the "saw 
gin," being used for all the short-stapled cottons, while the other, 
known as the " roller gin," is confined to the Sea Island, or long-staple 
The latter we shall first describe. This is a very simple machine, con- 
sisting of two wooden rollers, about a half inch, or one inch in diameter, 
revolving upon each other in opposite directions, and mounted upon a 
wooden frame, to which is appended a fly-wheel, from two to three feet 
in diameter. Motive-power is supplied by a treadle and crank, which is 
operated by a man who stands in front of the rollers, and feeds the cotton 
to them in small quantities. The perfect separation of the seed from the 
cotton depends mainly upon the small diameter of the rollers, and the 
slowness of their revolution. From twenty-five to thirty pounds can be 
cleaned each day by one gin ; previous to passing through which it is 
sorted by women, who carefully remove from it all the yellow cotton, as 
well as all the motes, &c., which may have passed through the "vvhippers" 
with it. Each female examines and cleans from sixty to one hundred 
pounds per day. After passing through the gin, and parting with its 
seed, the cotton is again turned over to women, and subjected to a second 
examination, when all remaining impurities are removed from it. As 
this work must be well done, but thirty pounds per day are required from 
each woman. Short-stapied cottons are cleared from the adhering seeds by 



THE HEAVY OR FIELD CROPS. 



121 



the " saw-gin," which is thus constructed : A wooden box contains within 
it a roller, or shaft, of the same material, which, at every inch of its 

Fig. 64. 




length, carries a circular saw, about twelve inches in diameter, with 
hooked teeth. Above, or in front of these saws, is placed a box, the part 
of which next the saws is composed of metal slats, between which the 
saws pass to the distance of an inch. This box being filled with cotton, 
the revolution of the saws carries the cotton gradually around, until the 
whole has been drawn through the slats, leaving the seeds behind. These 
are then discharged, and the box refilled with uncleaned cotton. Consi- 
derable waste attends this mode of separating the seed from the wool, 
besides the injury done to its quality by the breakage of the fibres in 
passing through the slats. 

Packing. — The bags in which cotton is packed will usually hold about 
400 or 450 pounds ; and various methods have heretofore been used for 
filling and compressing these bags or bales, all of which have been more 
or less complicated and costly. An invention of Levi Dederick, New 
York, has supplied the machine long needed — one combining great 
power with simplicity and cheapness. It is portable, and can be moved 
from place to place at pleasure ; is operated by a horse and capstan ; and, 
with two men and a boy, will pack from twelve to sixteen bales of cotton 
per day. 

Uses. — Besides the cotton furnished by the plant, which is woven into 
various fabrics, the seeds are also valuable for many purposes. They are 
excellent food for cattle, furnish a very superior oil for table purposes, 
and make thp best manure which can be used on a plantation. 

u 



122 



FAKMER'S HAND-BOOK 



TOBACCO PLANT. 

Description. — This plant (known to botanists as Nicotiana,) was origi- 
nally derived from the Island of Tobago, in the West Indies, whence its 
present appellation. It is a very powerful narcotic, as well as a strong 
stimulant to the nervous system, and, when taken into the stomach in 
small doses, acts both as an emetic and a purgative. The smoke of 
tobacco, as also the decoction and powder, are used to destroy insec's 
which infest the growing plants in gardens and fields. The tobacco 
plant has a branching, fibrous root, from which springs a stem, varying 
in height from three to sis feet, round, hairy, and branching at the top. 

Fiff. 65. 




The leaves are very large, of a pale green color, and covered with short, 
glandular hairs ; those nearest the ground being the largest, but furnish- 
ing the coarsest tobacco. The flowers grow in panicles on the ends of 
the stem and branches ; and the seeds, which are small, but very nume- 
rous, have a somewhat reniform shape, and brown color. While growing, 
the tobacco plants require constant attention to free them from weeds, 
and from the hnver leaves, which, being coarse and strong, interfere with 
the full development of the finer leaves at the top. 

Varieties. — Botanists class many different species under the genus 
Nicotiana, viz : Virginian {N. tahacnm). large-leaved (iV. macrophyUa). 
shrubby (N. friiticosa), sweet-scented [N. vvchdata), common green {N. 
rustica), panicled [N. panicidata), clammy (iV. glutinosa), curled-leaved 



THE HEAVY OR FIELD CROPS. 1 2B 

{N. phimhaginifolia), primrose-leaved {N. piisilla), four-valved [N. quad- 
rivalvis), dwarf (iV. ?ia?i(z), Langsdorff's (N. Lanr/.<tdo7-Jii), honey-wort (iV, 
cerinthoides), and Havana [N. repanda). The Virginia tobacco is the 
variety most generally grown in the United States, and the Havana [N. 
repanda,) is t at from which the finest and most fragrant cigars are made. 
Tobacco is cultivated to some extent in Europe, as fixr north as Sweden, 
and it is also grown in Asia, Africa, and South America. The common 
green variety being more hardy than the Virginia, is cultivated in Ger- 
many, and other northern countries, where the majority of the families 
who have gardens raise a sufficiency for their own use ; but, not being 
properly cared, it is only used for smoking, and possesses but little value. 
Raising the Plants. — The first process in tobacco culture is to make 
provision for an abundant supply of plants ; as, owing to the small size 
of the seed, and the tardy growth of the plants, the young shoots would 
soon be smothered by weeds if not carefully protected. New ground, or 
land which has been a long time in grass, should be selected for the loca- 
tion of plant-beds, because less likely to produce weeds; to guard more 
eflcctually against which, and to insure a growth of thrifty plants, the 
land shduld be burned over with brush, or cord-wood, which may be 
moved from place to place with long iron hooks. Before burning new 
ground, all tlie old roots should be grubbed up, the rubbish cleared away, 
and the dead leaves raked ofi"; and it would be advantageous to skim oflF 
sod-ground with sharp hoes, before it is burned over. When the ground 
has cooled off, and the ashes have been carefully removed, the soil should 
be broken up with hoes, finely pulverized, and well raked. The land 
having been laid off in beds, about four feet wide, and somewhat elevated, 
the seed should be sown upon it in the proportion of a table-spoonful to 
fifty square yards, well raked in with an iron rake, and the beds trodden 
down to render them firm and compact. A thin covering of brush must 
then be placed over the beds to keep them moist, and to protect the plants 
from the frost. The beds should be prepared and sown as soon as the 
frost is out of the ground. When the plants have attained a good size, 
and there is no longer any reason to dread frost, the covering of brush 
may be removed, and the beds weeded by hand ; care being used to avoid 
bruising the tender plants. 

Soil and Climate. — Tobacco flourishes best in rich, light, alluvial, 
loamy soils, or such as have been recently cleared. Lands which have 
been long in grass, especially sheep pastures, produce excellent tobacco. 
As it is an exhausting crop, it should not be planted too often on the 
same land, but give place to grain and grass, which latter should be 
allowed to remain on the ground for two or three years. This plant 



124 FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 

arrives at full perfection only in a warm climate, and can never be 
grown to advantage in elevated situations, in northern exposures, or on 
vret and springy land. Although, being an annual plant, it may mature 
even in Russia and Sweden, yet the plants will be puny and devoid of 
flavor. In moist and not very warm climates, like that of Ireland, the 
plants may attain a very large size, but will be wanting in that superior 
flavor which can be imparted only by sunshine, and pure, dry air. The 
Southern States are well adapted to its culture, and produce chewing- 
tobacco of a peculiarly rich flavor, though the fragrant tobacco of Cuba 
surpasses it for smoking purposes. 

Mode of Culture. — In preparing the ground, care must be used to 
plough it deeply, and to completely pulverize the soil. Grass lands 
intended for tobacco should always be ploughed the previous autumn ; 
and all kinds of land intended for that purpose would be benefited by 
being turned over before frosts set in. In the spring the land should be 
manured, cross-ploughed, and well harrowed just before planting, which 
is usually done during the months of May and June. The ground must 
be laid ofi" into ridges, by a single-horse plough, with three and a half or 
four feet between the centres, according to the kind of tobacco which is 
to be planted, and crossed at the same distances by a shovel-plough, or 
one with a double mould-board. Every square thus made must be scraped 
with the hoe into the form of a hill, in which one plant must be set. 
Plants can only be set after a rain, and much care must be taken in per- 
forming the operation ; for if plants are well set they will grow quickly, 
but bad setting will retard them. In case they die from drought, or are 
destroyed by worms, others must be planted in their places. The after- 
treatment is very similar to' that applied to Indian corn — the plough, 
cultivator, and hoe being used alternately to keep down the weeds, and 
mellow the earth. During the last ploughing, the middle of the day 
should be chosen for the purpose, when the leaves, having wilted, will 
not easily break. 

Topping and Priming. — As the plant develops, a blossom bud grows 
out from the top, which is called " buttoning." This top being pulled 
off, with those upper leaves that are too small to be of value, the plants 
are thus reduced to a height of two or three feet. The first topping will 
always admit of a greater number of leaves being left, and, in proportion 
as the season advances, the number should be reduced. The heavier 
kinds of tobacco are usually topped early in the season to twelve leaves, 
then to ten, and still later to eight. Light tobacco, for segar wrappers, 
may be allowed to mature sixteen or eighteen leaves. Priming consists 
in breaking off the leaves next the ground, which, to the number of four 



THE HEAVY OR FIELD CROPS. 125 

or five, have no value. A good rule is to prime six inches, and top to 
eight leaves ; but if the land is poorer than common, or if, from the 
backwardness of the plant, and the advanced state of the season, frost 
is apprehended, the priming should not be carried higher than four 
inches. If the soil is unusually rich, and there is danger that the top 
will come to the ground, then the priming must rise in proportion. 

Suckermg and Worming. — Every plant requires to be twice suckered 
before it is ready for cutting. These shoot out from every leaf, and must 
be broken off in such a way as not to injure the leaf. They are of quick 
growth, and require early removal, else they will not only injure the 
growth of the plant, but will endanger the destruction of leaves ia 
removing them. Tobacco is very subject to injury by the horn- and cut- 
worms, which should be frequently sought for and destroyed. 

Cutting and Housing. — The cutting season commonly commences in 
August, and continues into September. When tobacco is ripe, the leaves 
assume a spotted, yellowish appearance, and are so thick and rigid that 
they may be cracked or broken by folding and pressing them gently 
between the thumb and forefinger. Tobacco must be split while stand- 
ing ; and such hands as can readily distinguish between the ripe and 
green plants should be employed at this labor. Armed with a broad flat 
cutter, somewhat like a square meat-chopper, a skilful operator splits the 
plants, with great rapidity, to within six inches of the ground. The 
cutter follows after, and, with a common hemp-hook cuts the plant up, 
and lays it on the ground, where it is exposed to the rays of the sun for 
a few hours, until the leaves fall and wilt. As there is danger of the 
plants being burned by the too-powerful heat of the sun at mid-day, the 
cutting should be done in the mornings and evenings ; only such quan- 
tity being cut at once as may be easily secured before the sun has 
acquired sufficient power to injure it. When the plants have wilted 
sufficiently, they should be piled with their butts toward the sun, as the 
stems, being large and rigid, require more sun to make them ftxll. Much 
care must be used in handling the plants, to avoid bruising the leaves ; 
and the plants first cut should always be placed at the bottom of the 
heap, so that, as near as possible, all may be exposed to the sun's rays 
an equal length of time. If the tobacco-house is near to the field, sleds 
are very convenient vehicles for transporting the tobacco ; but if at a 
distance, a wagon will be preferable, coupled so as to hold a very long 
body, sufficiently high to hang the tobacco on sticks across it. The sticks 
being filled with plants in the field, and then placed on the wagon in a 
row, nothing but the butts of the plants are presented to the action of 
the 8un while being transported to the drying-house. No more tobacco 
11* 



126 FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 

should be cut at oue time than can be hung up in the drying-house, as 
great loss is attendant upon leaving it in heaps. The sticks on which 
the tobacco is hung should be placed in tiers above each other, and a 
distance of from eight to twelve inches left between them, according to 
the size of the tobacco — thus admitting a free circulation of air. When 
partially cured, the spaces may be diminished, to make room for another 
cutting. If the tobacco is to be cured without lire, the house cannot be 
too open on the sides ; but if lire is used, the sides of the building must 
be perfectly tight, and no openings left for the escape of smoke, except 
in the roof. 

Curing. — This is a nice operation, and requires skill and attention., as 
upon its proper execution depends the quality and value of the tobacco. 
For the first forty-eight hours the fires sliould be moderate; the mercury 
ranging from 100° to 115°, When the edges of the leaves begin to turn 
yellow, and the tips to curl, the fires should be raised, but not allowed to 
get too hot, for then the aromatic oil passes off witli the sap and smoke, 
leaving an inferior red-colored tobacco. And again, if the fires are too 
low, the tobacco sweats, and the oil escapes. The latter danger, how- 
ever, is not so imminent as the former; more tobacco being injured by 
too much heat, than by a lack of it. The fires having been gradually 
raised until tlie mercury indicates 100°, they must be kept at that point 
until the tobacco is cured. In making kite-foot tobacco, the rule is to 
cure the plant, stems and all, in forty-eight hours from the time the fires 
are raised, which is when the leaves begin to assume a yellow color. 
After thus commencing to change, the entire leaf very soon takes on the 
eame appearance, when it becomes an object to cure it before it turns to 
a nutmeg-brown. If not very speedily cured, the whole, or a great part 
of it, will change to the latter color before the operation is completed. 

Stripping and Prising. — When the plants are sufficiently dried, which 
may be judged of by the stems becoming hard, the leaves may be stripped 
from the stalks. A damp spell during the winter or spring is the best 
time for this operation, as the moisture in the air prevents the leaves from 
crumbling. They must then be sorted into three classes: 1st, comprising 
the best quality and color; 2d, that which is inferior; 3d, the ground 
leaves. The leaves may then be neatly tied up in bundles called 
" hands," each containing either four leaves of the first class, or six of 
the second and third classes. ■ The " hands" must then be " put down to 
condition," as it is usually termed ; that is, packed in large bulks, with 
the tails in the middle, and the heads on the outside, and subjected to 
heavy pressure by weights. In this state it undergoes a sweat; but as 
poon as it commences to ueat it must be taken out, and hung up to dry, 



THE HEAVY OR FIELD CKOPS. 12'! 

and there left until a rain shall again bring it into case. It should then 
be put down in very large bulk ; the number of courses being six, eight, 
or any higher number, and the whole enclosed by soft straw, the walls 
of the house, and plank, so as to exclude the air entirely. In this condi- 
tion it may be kept for any length of time, and will always be ready for 
hauling to market in the " hand" or " prising." When the cover of the 
bulk is removed, with the view of taking out a part of the tobacco for 
prising or sale, the entire top course, or courses, should be smoothly 
separated from the rest, and the cover carefully replaced. This is neces- 
sary to prevent the top of the bulk from becoming too divy. Prising 
.should be done in weather when the condition of the tobacco will not 
change. Each bundle should be straight, and closely packed in hogs- 
heads in the usual way. When prising in summer, some elder-bushes 
may be spread over the bulk to keep the tobacco damp. 

Nicotine. — When the dried leaves of the tobacco-plant are moistened 
with water, tied together in small bundles, and placed in heaps, fermen- 
tation soon commences, and is accompanied by the absorption of oxy- 
gen ; the leaves then become quite warm, and emit the smell usually 
perceived in prepared tobacco and snuff. If the fermentation is carefully 
promoted, and too high a heat avoided, this smell increases, and becomes 
more delicate ; and, on the completion of the fermentation, an oily, 
azotized, volatile matter, called nicotine, is found in the leaves, which, 
though possessing all the properties of a base, was not present before 
the fermentation. Nicotine is a very powerful and deadly poison. 



RICE. 

Varieties and Description. — There are four principal varieties of rice, 
viz: the common rice ( Oryza sativa), the dry or mountain rice ( 0. mutica), 
early rice {0. prcecox), and the clammy rice [O. r/Iutinosa) ; though the 
inferior varieties are as numerous as the different soils, climates, and 
other physical circumstances controlling its culture. The culm of the 
common rice is from one to six feet in height, annual, erect, simple, 
round, and jointed. The flowers are disposed in a large and beautiful 
panicle, sirailating that of the oat; the leaves slender, awl-shaped, curved, 
and embracing; the leaflets lance-shaped, and resembling a calyx ; the 
valves of corolla of equal length — the inner, even and awnless; the outer 
twice as wide, four-grooved, rough, and awned; the style single and two- 
parted. Rice can be profitably cultivated only in warm climates, although 
it has been in a measure acclimated to districts of Germany, and small 
parcels have been raised in the neighborhood of Annapolis, in Maryland. 



128 



FARMER'S HANI>-BOOK. 



A crop has been obtained even as far north as England, on the banks ot 
the river Thames. These cases are mere exceptions, however, to the 




natural habits of the plant, and furnish no ground for an opinion as to 
the possibility of cultivating it with profit in high latitudes. It is raised 
in immense quantities in India, where the lands can be flooded, and also 
in Japan, Cambodia, Cochin China, and the southern provinces of China. 
In South Carolina it has long been a staple, having been introduced there 
during the sixteenth century. 

Mode of cultivation in South Carolina. — The planting is commenced 
about the 25th of March ; the ground is trenched shallow but wide, and 
the seed scattered in the rows, in the proportion of two bushels to the 
acre. It is hoed about the close of April, or the beginning of May, when 
the rice is in the fourth leaf, and the field then covered with water. If 
the planting be late, and there is danger of grass, the field is flooded 
before hoeing. The usual depth of water is about three or four inches, 
just sufficient to allow the tops of the rice to appear alaove it. "When the 
water is of proper depth, a notch is made on the frame of the feed-trunk, 
and if the rains raise the water above the notch, or it leaks out, it must 
be let ofi" or added to accordingly. This is done by putting a small stick, 
about an inch in diameter, in the door of the trunk. If scum or froth 
appear in eight or ten days, the water is changed, by taking ofi" the trunk 
door, allowing it to run off vrith the ebb tide, and refilling at the nest 
flood. The water is kept on about fifteen or seventeen days, according to 
the state of the weather : if the sun is hot, fifteen days ; if the weather is 
cool, and the atmosphere cloudy, seventeen days, counting from the day 
the field is flooded. The water is allowed to leak off for two days, when 



THE HEAVY OR FIELD CROPS. 12t< 

the whole is run off, and the field allowed to dry. In four or five days 
it 18 hoed a second time, the ground stirred up, whether clean or not, and 
the fallen rice combed up with the fingers. About the beginning of July 
it is hoed the third time, and picked clean. The field is then flooded as 
it iS hoed, the water being regulated to the same depth as before. If any 
grass escapes, it is picked out in the water after it shoots up. Though 
this is called the fourth hoeing, the hoe is never used, except in some 
high places, or in cleaning the dams. If the rice is flaggy, and likely to 
lodge, it is supported by flooding it deeply, and so kept until it is fit for 
harvest. With well-drained land, in good order, each hand may readily 
cultivate five acres of rice, and one or one and a half of provisions. 

Chinese mode of cultivation. — The Chinese obtain two crops per year 
from the same land, and cultivate it in this way from generation to gene- 
ration, on the same soil, and without other manure than the mud depos- 
ited by the water of the river used in flooding it. A few days are allowed 
for the mud to get partially dry, after the water has been drained off, 
when a sm.all spot is enclosed by a bank of clay, slightly ploughed and 
harrowed, and the grain, previously steeped in dung, diluted with animal 
water, is sown very thickly on it. A thin sheet of water is then brought 
over it, either by a led stream, or by the use of the chain-pump. A seed- 
bed, or nursery, is thus prepared, and, in the meantime, the rest of the 
tract is being put in order for planting. When the plants are six or 
seven inches high, they are set out in furrows made by the plough, and 
80 planted as to stand a foot apart every way. Water is then brought 
over them, and so kept till the crop begins to ripen, when it is with- 
drawn, and the field dried for the harvest. The rice is reaped with a 
sickle, threshed with a flail, or trodden out by cattle, and the husk taken 
off by pounding it in a stone mortar, or by passing it between two flat 
stones, as in a common mill. The first crop is cut in May, and the 
second, immediately prepai-ed for by burning the stubble, ripens in 
October or November. When this is cut, the stubble is ploughed in, 
which is the only vegetable manure such lands receive. Aquatic rice is 
cultivated in the same manner in Java, Ceylon, and Japan. 

Cleaning Rice. — This operation is now usually effected by the aid of 
the machine figured on the next page, which divests it of the husk, and 
polishes the grain at the same time. 

Uses. — Rice has been extolled, and very justly, as superior to any other 
article of vegetable diet ; yet in Europe, and in many parts of the United 
States, the preference is generally assigned to the potatoe, which contains 
far less nutriment. In Hindostan, the natives, fed on rice and curry, 
perform tasks in the burning sun which any white laborer, whose diet 

I 



130 



FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 



Fiff. 67 




included roast beef, potatoes, and porter, never could accomplish. Rice 
may be used in the whole grain, or in flour, in an indescribable number 
of ways. 



THE TEA PLANT 

As it is more than probable that, ere long, this important shrub will 
be successfully cultivated in many portions of the United States, a de- 
scription of the mode of cultivation and process of manufacture may, 
with great propriety, be introduced among the general details of Ameri- 
can farming. Tea was grown in Georgia as far back as 1772, but, for 
some unexplained reason, its culture was abandoned. In 1848 the late 
Dr. Junius Smith, of Greenville, South Carolina, imported a large num- 
ber of the plants, which, after cultivation in his garden until March of 
1851, he set out on his plantation, where they grew remarkably M'ell. 
In January of the latter year, they suffered no injury from a snow eight 
or nine inches deep, which was accompanied by intensely cold weather. 
Efforts are now being made to introduce the tea plant generally througbrt 



THE HEAVY OR FIELD CROPS. 131 

out those States whose climate is suited to its cultivation ; and, with 
proper management, the ultimate success of these endeavors is beyond 
the possibility of a doubt. 

Varieties and Description. — There are but two known varieties of the 
tea plant — Thea viridis, or green tea ; and Thea bohea (Fig. 68), or black 

Fig. 68. 




tea. The first-named is a large, strong-growing, almost hardy plant, 
with spreading branches, leaves three to five inches long, very broadly 
lanceolate, pale green, singularly waved, and the margin reflected. The 
flowers, which are large, solitary, and mostly confined to the upper axil, 
appear in autumn, six weeks or two months earlier than those of T. bohea. 
The latter plant is of smaller size, with remarkably erect, stiflP branches; 
the leaves are not above one-half or two-thirds the size of those of the 
T. viridis, perfectly flat, more coriaceous, and dark green. On the axils 
of numerous leaves two or three flowers are borne, which are small, have 
a slight fragrance, and are in perfection during winter. 

Soil and Climate. — The tea-plant delights to grow in valleys, at the 
foot of hills, and upon the banks of streams, where it has the benefit of 
a southern exposure. The soil best adapted to it is a rich, porous loam, 
containing a considerable admixture of vegetable mould; and the land 
must be thoroughly drained — the shrub refusing to gi-ow in low, wet 
lands. Those districts in the United States which are best suited to the 
growth of the plant, are the alluvial tracts bordering on the tidal streams 
of Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida, 
and the undulating portions of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Kentucky, 
and Tennessee. 

Culture. — The seeds are gathered in October, packed in sand for pr&- 



132 FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 

Benation during the winter, and in spring sown in rows, distant about 
four feet from each other. From three to five seeds are dropped in each 
place, at intervals of three feet along the rows. With the exception of 
stirring the earth, and eradicating the weeds, the plants remain undis- 
turbed during the first two or three years, until they are well established, 
and putting forth strong and vigorous shoots. On properly-managed tea 
plantations, a regular succession is always kept up, so that the failure 
of old plants is compensated by the constant maturing of an equal num- 
ber. Plucking the leaves being very prejudicial to the health of the 
shrub, the operation is never commenced until it is in a vigorous condi- 
tion. When the plants are in their third year, the first crop is usually 
gathered ; and they continue to yield until they are ten or twelve years 
old. The best time for gathering tea is while the leaves are small, young, 
and juicy; and the first gathering usually commences about the close of 
February, when the leaves are young and unexpanded; the second about 
the beginning of April ; and the third during the month of June. The 
first collection, which only comprises the tender leaves, is the most 
esteemed, and is known by the name of imperial tea ; but, as the season 
advances, the quality and value diminish, until the lowest grade is 
reached, called bohea. While under cultivation, the tea-plant rarely 
attains a greater height than three or four feet. 

Manipulation of the Leaves. — 1. Green Tea [Thea Viridis). Leavea 
intended for green tea are thinly spread out on trays, where they remain 
for one or two hours, in order that the superfluous moisture may be eva- 
porated, when they are thrown into the roasting-pans, placed over brisk 
wood fires. In these pans they are rapidly moved about and shaken up 
by the workmen until they become quite flaccid and moist, and give off 
considerable vapor. After remaining in the pans four or five minutes, 
they are transferred to the rolling-table, and divided among several 
workmen, each of whom takes up as many as he can press together with 
his hands, works them up into the form of a ball, and rolls them upon 
the table until they are greatly compressed. Much of the moisture is 
removed by this process, and the leaves obtain the desired twist. They 
are then shaken out upon flat trays, and, after remaining thus for a short 
time, are again thrown into a pan, placed over a slow but steady char- 
coal fire, where they are kept in rapid motion by the hands of the ope- 
rators. In about an hour the leaves are well dried, and exhibit a dull 
green color, which subsequently becomes brighter. When a sufficient 
quantity of leaves have been thus treated, they are winnowed through 
Bieves of different sizes, by which several varieties of tea are made, 
according to size, and the whole cleansed from dust and other impurities. 



THE HEAVY OR FIELD CROPS. 133 

During this operation the coarse teas are once reheated, and the finer 
qualities three or four times, by which the leaves acquire a dull bluish- 
green color. — 2. Black Tea {Thea Bohea). The leaves vphich are to be 
manufactured into black tea are first heated and manipulated as above 
described ; after which they are transferred to a tubular-shaped basket, 
somewhat resembling a dice-box, and containing a sieve. This apparatus 
is placed over a charcoal fire, where it remains but a few minutes, when 
the leaves are taken out, and again rolled ; this operation being repeated 
a second, and sometimes a third time. When all the leaves have been 
thus treated, they are replaced in the baskets in bulk, and set over a 
slow fire, and, being covered over with a flat basket, are allowed to 
remain thus until quite dry; being carefully watched, however, and 
occasionally stirred, so as to expose them equally to the heat. A black 
color is thus produced, which subsequently improves. The other pro- 
cesses of sorting, sifting, and reheating, being similar to those used with 
the green teas, need not here be again detailed. 

BROOM CORN. 

Varieties. — According to Allen, a distinguished writer on agricultural 
subjects, there are four or five species of the broom grass. There are 
several varieties, of which the pine-tree kind is regarded the poorest, or the 
least advantageous for cultivation ; yet, as it is the earliest, — being three 
weeks earlier than the large kind, — in a short season, when its seed will 
ripen, while the seeds of the other kind fail to ripen, this may prove the 
most profitable crop. The North river crop is ordinarily the best crop, 
being ten days earlier than the large kind, and yields about seven hundred 
pounds of brush to the acre — the brush meaning the dried panicles, cleaned 
of the seed, with eight or twelve inches of the stalk. The New Jersey, or 
large kind, yields about one thousand pounds of brush per acre. The stalks 
and seed are large. In good seasons this is the most profitable crop. 
Alluvial lands are best adapted for the broom corn, more especially if 
warmly situated, protected by hills, and well manured. 

Method of Planting. — The broom corn is planted in rows, about two and a 
half or three feet apart, so that a horse may pass between them with a plough, 
or cultivator, or harrow. The hills in each row are from eighteen inches to 
two feet apart, or further, according to the quality of the soil. The quantity 
of seed to be planted is estimated very difl!erently by diflferent farmers. Some 
say that half a peck is enough for an acre, while some others plant half a 
bushel, and some a bushel, in order to make it sure that the land shall be 
•veil stocked. The rule with some is to cast a teaspoonful, or thirty or 
'orty seeds, in a hill. The manure at the time of planting should be put 
12 



134 



farmer's hand-book. 



into the hill, and old manure or compost is preferred, as being- most free 
from worms. 

Culture. — The broom corn should be ploughed and hoed three times, — 
the last time when about three feet high, though some hoe it when it is six 
feet high, and when they are concealed by it as they are toiling in the field. 
The number of stalks in a hill should be from seven to ten ; if there ai-e only 
five or six stalks, they will be larger and coarser, and if there are aboui 
eight, the brush will be finer and more valuable. In the first hoeing, the 
superfluous stalks should be pulled up 

Harvesting. — As the frost kills the seed, the broom corn is harvested at 
the commencement of the first frost. The long stalks are bent down at two 
or two and a half feet from the ground, and by laying those of two rows 
across each other obliquely, a kind of table is made by every two rows, with 
a passage between each table for the convenience of harvesting. After 
drying for a few days, the brush is cut, leaving of the stalks from six to 
twelve inches. The longer it is cut, of course, the more it will weigh ; and, 
if the purchaser does not object, the benefit will accrue to the farmer. How- 
ever, the dry stalk weighs but little ; if its weight is excessive, the pur- 
chaser sometimes requires a deduction from the weight. As it is cut, it 
is spread on the tables, still further to dry. As it is carried into the barn, 
Bome bind it in sheaves, which is a great convenience for the further opera- 
tion of extracting the seed. Others throw the brush into the cart or wagon, 
unbound. 



Scraping. — The process of extracting the seed is called " scraping the 
brush." Two iron horizontal scrapers are prepared, — one movable, to bo 
elevated a little, so that a handful of brush may be introduced between 
them. The upper scraper is then pressed down with one hand, and thr 
brush drawn through with the other, the seed being scraped oflf. This is 



THE HEAVY OR FIELD CROPS. 



135 



the old method. A newly-invented scraper is superseding the old one. It 
is an vipright instrument, of elastic wood or steel, inserted in a bench of con- 
venient height for the operator. The form (Fig. 69) is as follows : a is a 
piece of wood or steel, immovable ; b and c are pieces which are elastic, 
movable to the right and left at the top, but fastened to the central piece 
below. The degree of elasticity may be regulated by wedges in the planks 
d andy — wedges in the hole through which the pieces pass. A quantity 
of brush is taken in the hand, and brought down upon the top of this instni 
ment. As it is forced down and drawn towards the body, it separates the 
elastic sticks from the central piece, but their elasticity presses sufficiently 
on the brush, so that the seed is scraped off. The advantage of this scraper 
is, that both hands may be applied to the brush, instead of only one hand, 
as in the other kind, and the elastic power of nature is substituted for the 
pressure of one of the hands. The instrument tllso seems to double tlie 
scraping surface. 

Uses. — For the manufacture of brooms it is unsurpassed. The seed is 
also used for feeding horses, cattle, and swine. It is ground and mixed 
with Indian meal, and is excellent food. It weighs forty pounds a bushel. 

MILLET. 
Varieties. — There are two kinds of Millet cultivated : the German Millet 
(a) and the Cultivated Millet (/;). The cultivation required by both is 
about the same. 

Fig. 70. 




iSoil. — Millet requires a warm, rich, sandy, well-pulverized soil. Il 
succeeds better when sown after some crop which has been abundantly 



136 farmer's hand-book. 

manured than it does when sown immediately after an amelioration of 
undecomposed manure. The soil must be tilled to a considerable depth 
for its reception, and ploughed three times, besides harrowing, rolling, and 
weeding. It is generally very successful on newly-drained land, provided 
it is in good condition, and also land which has been left in repose for 
several years ; in the latter case, a single ploughing is sufficient, if the soil 
is afterwards harrowed, and well broken-up with a roller, before the seed is 
j)ut into it. 

Sowing. — Millet should be sown in May ; a harrow is then passed 
lightly over the soil, and, where the ground is dry, a roller must also be 
used. The seed must be wholly ripe, perfect, and free from disease. 

Culture. — As soon as weeds make their appearance among millet which 
is just shooting above ground, they must be eradicated ; thorough weeding 
is an indispensable operation in the culture of millet. 

Great attention is also requisite to seize on the exact time when the plant 
attains maturity, especially with common millet, which ripens very 
unequally, and is very liable to shed its seed. Those who only cultivate 
millet in patches cut off the spikes as they ripen, and carry them home in 
sacks ; but as this can only be done where this plant is cultivated but little, 
the reaping must be commenced as soon as the greater part of the plants are 
ripe, and performed in a careful manner with a sickle. The plant must riot 
be left on the ground in swaths, because, if rain comes on, and it gets wetted, 
it sheds its grain. It should, on the contrary, be immediately carried 
to the barns, and there threshed, and freed from all impurities and foreign 
substances. The grain should then be spread, in very thin layers, over the 
floor, and stirred about every day with a rake, until perfectly dry ; other- 
wise, it will become heated and bitter. The straw is tied up, even though 
moist, and carried into the air to be dried ; if not properly dried, it will 
become mouldy on being stacked. This straw is much esteemed as proven- 
der for cattle. 

Although, when cultivated to any great extent, it is not possible to cut otf 
he ears separately as they ripen, it is well to gather all those in this man 
ner which are to be used for seed. Grain which ripens thoroughly, and of 
which proper care has been taken, shoots up evenly, and produces perfect 
plants, free from disease, and especially from smut, which frequently mani 
fests itself in this grain where proper precautions have not been taken. 
That portion of millet which is intended for seed should also be preserved 
n a arv and airv place, and should be threshed when wanted. 



THE HEAVY OR FIELD CROPS. 137 

HEMP. 

Fig. 71. 




Soils. — The soils which produce this article best are those which are 
fresh, or which have lain some time in grass or clover. Manuring is not 
much practised, clover being used in place of it. Deep, black, putrid vege- 
table lands, which have a low situation, and somewhat inclined to moisture, 
as well as the deep, mellow, loamy or sandy sorts, are well adapted. Mel- 
low, rich, clayey loams do well, and so does old meadow-land. 

The preparation of the ground, for sowing the seed, is by the plough and 
horses, until the clods are sufficiently pulverized or dissolved, and the sur- 
face of the field is rendered even and smooth. Scarcely any other crop better 
rewards diligence and careful husbandry. Fall and winter ploughing 
is practised with advantage — it is indispensable in old meadows, or old 
pasture-grounds. 

Culture. — Plants for seed are ordinarily reared in a place distinct from 
that in which they are cultivated for the lint. The seeds intended to re- 
produce seeds for the crop of the next year are sowed in drills about foui 
fnet apart. When they are grown sufficiently to distinguish between the 
male and female stalks, the former are pulled and thrown away, and tlie 
latter are thinned, leaving the stalks separated seven or eight inches from 
each other. The male plant alone blossoms, and, when agitated, throws 
off farina, a yellow dust or flour which colors the ground, or any object 
with which it comes in contact. A few of the male plants had better be 
left, scattered through the drill, until the farina is wholly discharged, for as 
12* 



138 farmer's hand-book. 

obvious reason. Between the drills a plough is run sufficiently often to 
keep the jrround free from weeds and grass, and between the stalks in each 
drill the hoe is employed for the same object. The seed plants are gen- 
erally cut after the first smart frost, between the middle or last of Sep- 
tember and the middle of October, and carried to a barn or stackyard, where 
the seeds are easily detached by the common thrail. After the seeds are 
threshed out, spread them on a floor, to cure properly and prevent their rot- 
ling, before they are finally put away for use the next spring. The seeds 
— whether to reproduce seeds only, or the lint — are sowed about the same 
time, which time depends on the season, though it is generally agreed that 
all the month of May, and about the 10th of it especially, is the most favor- 
able time. 

When the object is to make a crop of hemp, the seeds are sown broadcast. 
The usual quantity is a bushel and a half to the acre, though some use 
more. When the seeds are sown, they are ploughed or harrowed in ; 
ploughing is best in old ground, as it avoids the injurious effect of a 
beating rain, and the consequent baking of the earth. It is also beneficial 
afterwards to roll the ground with a heavy roller. 

Gathering. — After the seeds are sown, the labors of the cultivator are 
suspended until the plants are ripe, and in a state to be gathered — every- 
thing, in the intermediate time, being left to nature. If the season be favor- 
able until the plants are sufficiently high to shade the ground, (which they 
will do in a few weeks, at six or eight inches height,) there is a strong 
probability of a good crop. When they attain that height, but few articles 
sustain the effect of bad seasons better than hemp. 

It is generally ripe and ready to be gathered about the middle of August, 
varying according to the time of sowing. Some sow at different periods, in 
order that the crop may not all ripen at the same time, and that a press 
of labor, in reaping it, may be thus avoided. The maturity of the plant is 
determined by the evaporation of the farina, already noticed, and the leaves 
of the plant exhibiting a yellowish hue ; it is then generally supposed to be 
ripe, but it is safest to wait a few days longer. 

Two modes of gathering the plants are practised, — pulling and cutting; 
the latter is now generally preferred. W^hen pulled, it is done with the 
hand, which is better for the protection of an old leather glove. The 
laborer catches twenty or thirty plants together, with both hands, and, by a 
sudden jerk, draws them without much difficulty. The operation of cutting 
is performed with a knife, often made out of an old scythe, resembling a 
sickle, — not so long, but broader. This knife is applied much in the 
same way as the sickle, except that the laborer stoops more. But, whether 
pulled or cut, the plants are carefully laid on the ground, the evener the 



THE HEAVY OR FIELD CROPS. 13'J 

better, to cure, which they do in two or three days, in dry weather. When 
cured the plants are set up in the field in which they were produced, in 
shocks of convenient size, the roots or butt-ends resting on the ground, and 
the tops united above by a band made of the plant itself. Previously tn 
putting them up in shocks, most cultivators tie the plants in small hand 
bundles. Before the shocks are formed, the leaves should be rapidly 
knocked off, with a rough paddle or hooked stick. The shocks are collected 
together and formed into stacks, which are sometimes permitted to remain 
over a year. 

Rotting. — Two methods of rotting are practised — the dew-rotting and the 
water-rotting. When dew-rotted, the plants are usually spread down from 
the middle of October to the middle of December. A farmer who has a 
large crop on hand puts them down at different times, for his convenience in 
handling and dressing them. Autumnal rotting is more apt to give the lint 
a dark and unsightly color than winter rotting. The best ground upon 
which to expose the plants is meadow or grass land. The length of time 
they ought to remain exposed depends upon the degree of moisture and the 
temperature of the weather that prevail. In a very wet and warm spell, 
five or six weeks may be long enough. To determine whether they have 
been sufficiently rotted, a handful is taken and broken by the hand or applied 
to the brake, when it can be easily ascertained, by the facility with which 
the lint can be detached from the stalk, if it be properly rotted. If the fibres 
remain on the ground too long, they lose some of their strength, though 
a few days longer than necessary, in cold weather, will do no injury. If 
they are taken up too soon, that is, before the lint can be easily separated 
from the woody part of the stalk, it is harsh, and the process of breaking ia 
difficult. Snow-rotting, that is, when the plants, being spread out, remain 
long enough to rot, (which, however, requires a greater length of time,) 
bleaches the lint, improves the quality, and makes it nearly as valuable as 
when water-rotted. 

Breaking and Dressing. — After the operation of rotting is performed, 
the plants are again collected together, put in shocks or stacks, or under 
some covering. Breaking and dressing are best performed in February and 
March ; and the best sort of weather, frosty nights, and clear, thawing 
days. The brake cannot be used advantageously in wet or moist weather. 

The usual daily task of an able-bodied hand at the brake is eighty pounds 
weight, though this depends on the weather and the condition of the stalks. 
The quantity of net hemp produced to the acre is from six hundred to one 
thousand pounds, varying according to the soil and the season. It is said 
that the quantity which any field will produce may be anticipated by the 
average height of the plants throughout the field. Thus, if the plants wilj 



140 



farmer's hand-book. 



average eight feet in height, the acre will yield eight hundred weight of 
hemp, each foot in height corresponding to a hundred weight of the lint. 

Hemp exhausts the soil slowly, if at all ; and nothing cleanses and prepares 
the earth better for other crops than hemp, especially for small grain or 
grasses. It eradicates all weeds, and, when it is taken off, leaves the field 
not only clean, but smooth and even. 

FLAX. 

Varieties. — The most important species of this plant — the only one form- 
ing the subject of cultivation — is the common flax, which has been applied 
to the making of cloth from time immemorial. 

Fig. 72. 




Soils. — The soils best suited to the growth of flax are those which con- 
tain a large proportion of vegetable matter in their composition. Strong 
clays do not answer well, nor soils of a gravelly or dry, sandy nature. If 
the soil be too much enriched by the application of manures, the flax will 
grow too luxuriously, and produce a coarse fibre ; and if it be deficient in 
fertility, the produce will be scanty and unremunerative. Soils of the alluvial 
formation are peculiarly adapted ; also land having a black, mossy surface, or 
what is called gray land, and where the lower part of the soil is clay, resting 
on a retentive subsoil. Crops of flax of considerable value have often been 
reaped from land on which the produce of oats v/as inferior. 

In the preparation of the soil for flax, it is of importance that it should be 
reduced to a fine tilth, and be free from weeds. When the previous crop 
has been grass, a single ploughing only is given, which is to take place early 
in winter ; when the period of sowing arrives, the land is to be well har- 



THE HEAVY OR FIELD CROPS. 141 

rowed, to prepare it for seed. When flax succeeds a corn crop, the land ia 
also ploughed early. Two ploughings are generally required in the spring. 

Culture. — In the culture of flax, the broadcast system is universally 
adopted, and, after sowing, a double turn of the harrows is given to cover the 
seeds. In most cases it is advantageous that the whole should be rolled, 
and, in damp situations, water-furrowed. When it succeeds any of the 
green crops, the grass-seeds and clover-seeds are sown at the same time as 
the crop. In this case the preparation of the land is easy. 

The period of sowing is in the month of April or May. The quantity of 
seed sown will depend, in some measure, on the object in view in cultivating 
the plant. When the quality of the fibre is regarded rather than the quantity, 
thick sowing is advisable ; but if it be intended to save the seed of the crop 
for the purpose of reproduction, if should be sown thin, in order that the 
plants may have room to throw out their shoots, and to have free access of 
air in the blossoming and filling seasons. Three bushels of seed may be re- 
garded as the proper quantity ; but if fine fibre must be produced, an 
additional quarter of a bushel may be added ; when the seed is regarded, two 
bushels or two and a half may be suflicient to the acre. The quality of flax- 
seed is easily ascertained, and it is important that every farmer should be a 
judge of the different kinds. That which is fresh and proper for sowing 
should be smooth, slippery, bright, plump, and so heavy as to sink in 
water ; it should also taste sweet, and, on being broken, it should appear of 
a light yellowish-green color, and oily. 

The after culture of flax is chiefly confined to weeding. 

Gathering. — The state of ripeness at which the crop is to be taken up 
depends on the object in view in its cultivation. If to produce seeds, then 
a degree of ripeness is essential greater than when the quality of the fibre 
is the desideratum. In the latter case, it is well to pull the flax when it is 
somewhat green ; in the former case, the state of ripeness is denoted by the 
seed vessels becoming hardened, the stems assuming a yellow hue, and the 
leaves beginning to fall. When the seeds are not intended for sowing again, 
though intended to be saved for consumption on the farm, the best period of 
pulling is shortly after the plants have attained maturity with respect to the 
formation, but not to the full ripening of the seeds. Flax should never be 
pulled when it is in the least degree damp ; and, when it is pulled, the 
greatest care should be taken to sort it, keeping every kind by itself. When 
pulled up, the plants are bound into sheaves or bunches, binding with the flax 
itself. 

BippUng. — In the process of rippling, which is the next operation, a 
large cloth should be spread upon the ground, with the ripple placed in the 
centre of it The rippling machine (Fig. 73) is an instrument like a comb, 



142 farmer's hand-book. 

with iron teeth, fixed upon a plank. The flax is separated into handfuls, and 
then drawn once or twice through the teeth of the machine, and thus the cap* 
sules or seed-vessels are separated. These capsules or pods should be spread 
in the sun to dry ; and those seeds which separate from the pods without 
bruising are the best and ripest, and may be set apart for sowing. The 
capsules are then broken, either by treading or threshing, and the seeds 
carefully winnowed and cleaned. 

Fig. 73. 




Watering. — The next process is the separation of the fibres from the 
stem by steeping the flax in water, by which the softer part partially under- 
goes the putrefactive fermentation ; the best water being that which is clear, 
soft, and in standing pools. The bunches of flax should be built in the 
pool in nearly an upright position, the root-ends being uppermost. They 
are kept under water by means of stones. When the flax is properly 
watered, it will sink in the pool, and the fibres will separate freely from the 
stalk. In warm weather, eight or ten days will sometimes be enough, and 
only a few more, in any case ; but, if the fibres adhere to the stem, so as to 
be separated with difficulty, it must be continued in the water longer. 
When sufficiently watered, it is taken out of the pool ; and when drained, ia 
taken to a grass field, and spread thinly over it in rows, lying on the grass 
not more than eight or ten days, and, when brittle, is taken up and again 
bound into sheaves or bunches, and then left till thoroughly dry, when they 
are sent to the mill, or carried home, or stored till wanted. 

Uses. — Besides the fibre of the plant, its seed is of considerable import- 
ance, being highly nutritive, and beneficial to every species of animal. It 
is given in the form of a jelly, mixed with various other matters. ( Jiven to 
calves, it is an excellent substitute for milk ; to horses and cattle it may be 
given, mixed with bruised oats, bran, or cut hay, and straw; but when 
intended for cattle, the chafi' need not be separated from the seeds, hut be all 
boiled together. 

LUCERN. 

Description. — This plant has a perennial root, and grows, when cu ti- 
>iated, from a foot and a half to two Uet high, and more. It is covered with 



THE HEAVY OR FIELD CROPS. 143 

leaves, downy below, and slightly so on the upper surface ; bears a flowei 
of a line purplish violet, and flowers in June or July. 

Fig. 74. 




Soil. — The soil adapted to its growth is deep, and of the lighter class, 
with a free or kindly subsoil. 

Culture and Tillage. — Two methods of raising this plant have been 
recommended and practised. The one is sowing it broadcast, in spring, 
sometimes along with a corn crop, in the same manner in which clover is 
sowed, and sometimes without a crop ; and the latter is the better practice, 
lucern not being suited to grow freely under the shade of other plants. The 
other method is, cultivating it in rows. Lucern, like other cultivated 
forage plants, gradually gives place to the grasses and hardier plants. 
When cultivated in rows, and carefully hoed, these native plants can be 
kept down, and the lucern preserved for a long period in the ground. But, 
when sown broadcast, this cannot be done in the same degree, and the 
lucern does not generally endure beyond nine or ten years. This is the 
main advantage which the row system possesses over the broadcast, in the 
cultivation of this plant. The best period of sowing lucern is about the 
middle of April. When sown broadcast, the quantity of seed^ to the acre 
may be sixteen or eighteen pounds ; when sown in rows, ten pounds. 

The soil should be well prepared, by deep ploughing, and a previous 
Bummer fallow, or fallow crop, such as potatoes, turnips, or carrots. But 
when it is wished merely to possess a few acres of lucern for the convenience 
of soiling, it is better to have the ground deeply trenched, and well manured. 

When drilled, the rows need not be more than eighteen inches apart, which 
will give room for tilling the intervals by the horse or hand hoe. After 



144 farmer's hand-book, 

the seeds are sown, care must be taken to keep down, by means of the hoe, 
all weeds that spring up amongst the plants and in the rows. In the month 
of August of the first year, when in flower, the crop may be mown, and, after 
this first cutting, the shoots may be kept down, by a slight pasturing with 
sheep, but not while the soil is wet, nor continued till a late period. Early 
in the following spring, the ground is to be horse or hand hoed, so that all 
weeds may be kept down, and the earth stirred about the roots of the plants. 
In the month of May the crop will be ready for the first cutting. After 
being cut, it is to be horse-hoed in the intervals. It will now grow very 
rapidly ; and, when ready for cutting, is to be cut again, and, after each 
cutting, hand-hoed. In this manner it may be mown four or five times in 
the season. It does not, however, arrive at its full growth till its third year, 
after which it will yield rich and early foliage. But it requires to be manured 
at intervals, as every fourth or fifth year ; the manure may be farm-yard 
dung, spread upon the surface after the last cutting in autumn, or early in 
spring. When the system of broadcast is adopted, the difference in the 
method of tillage is, that, in place of horse and hand hoe, the common har- 
row is used, which, passing over the surface, stirs the soil about the roots of 
the plants, and drags up and destroys weeds ; the lucern itself, having a strong 
root striking downwards, is not torn up by this rough treatment, but is 
benefited by the stirring of the soil around its roots and stems. 

Uses. — This plant is eminently wholesome and nutritive. It is well 
suited for milch cows, causing them to yield good and abundant milk, and is 
perfectly adapted to the feeding of horses, which is one of the most common 
purposes to wliich it is applied. It may be used with the like advantage for 
the soiling of any kind of stock, and is valuable for the early feeding which 
it supplies, being in this respect considerably before the clovers. 

SAINFOIN. 

Description and Habits. — This is a deep-rooted plant, with a branching 
stem, bearing spikes of beautiful flowers. It grows wonderfully on rocky 
soils, stretching its roots to a prodigious depth amongst the crevices of rocks 
and open strata. It is, in truth, on dry rocky soils that the chief advantages 
of the cultivation of sainfoin are seen. Like lucern, although in a lesser 
degree, it is choked, and ultimately extirpated, by the prevalence of the 
grasses ; but in a soil perfectly suited to it, as in a chalky down, it will 
have a duration, perhaps, as long as any other plant. Although best 
adapted to the limy soils, it will also grow upon any light soil which has a 
free or open subsoil ; but on moist clays it will only last a few years, — some- 
times not above two. 



THE HEAVY OR FIELD CROPS. 145 

Culture. — Sainfoin may be sown with a crop, in the same manner as the 
clovers and grasses. In the following season, it may be mown for hay or 
green forage, although it does not attain its full maturity until its third year. 
When this mode of management is adopted, the sainfoin should be mixed 
with one or more of the clovers, the most suitable being white clover, which 
will add to the weight of the produce, without materially interfering with 
the growth of the sainfoin. It should be sown broadcast, rather than culti- 
vated in rows, and the seeds should be of a good and tried kind, perfectly 
fresh. 

Fig. 75. 




It does not bear such frequent cutting as lucern. When used for soiling^ 
it may be cut twice ; when used for hay, it should be cut once, and the 
after-math depastured. It may be used for herbage as well as for forage, 
and many farmers prefer depasturing it in the first year, so that in the 
second it may have attained its full growth before it is mown. When made 
into hay, it should be cut just when it comes into full flower. It is not very 
apt to be injured by heating, and therefore may be put up more quickly than 
other hay plants. 

If ground is to be mown for successive years for forage, then, on such 
soils as are suited to it, it is a good crop, being easily grown, hardy, and 
productive. Such a mode of cultivation, however, cannot be commended. 
When sown merely to produce one crop of hay, and then to be depastured for 
Buch a period as may be thought suited to the nature of the soil, it answers 
w^ell ; but in this case it is recommended that it be sown with a proportion 
of white clover and rye grass. 

13 K 



146 farmer's hand-book. 



THE TARE. 

Description. — This is an annual plant, hardy, and comprising several 
varieties, one of which is distinguished by producing yellow seeds. The 




varieties are chiefly two, the winter and spring tare, in choosing between 
which, everything must depend on the intention of the crop. If the object 
is to have early feed, the winter variety is to be preferred ; but where the 
land is foul, and requires to be two or three times ploughed in spring, or 
where a late crop is desired, or a crop for seed, then the spring variety will 
generally deserve the preference. 

Soil. — The best adapted is a clay, but they will grow in any rich soil, 
not over dry. In a moist climate, the haulm grows so luxuriant as to rot 
at bottom ; and in one over dry, it is deficient in length. A dry season is, 
on the whole, preferable. 

Preparing the Soil. — This seldom consists of more than one ploughing, 
if for autumnal sowing ; and of a winter and spring ploughing, when to be 
sown in spring. 

Time of Sowing. — The winter variety is sown in September and Octo- 
ber, and the first sowing in spring ought to be as early as the season will 
permit. The mode of sowing is mostly broadcast. 

Culture. — The quantity of seed to an acre is from two and a half to three 
and a half bushels, according to the time of sowing, and whether they are to 
be consumed green or left to stand for a crop. When intended for seed, lesa 
is sown than when grown for soiling or drying the haulm. 



i 



THE HEAVY OR FIELD CROPS. 



147 



CLOVER. 

Varieties. — There are three principal varieties, — Dutch clover, purple 
clover, and cow-grass, the most approved kind being the common red or 
broad clover, which is extensively cultivated in the United States, some- 
Fig. 77. 




times alone, and occasionally with other grasses. With timothy it makes 
hay of a very excellent kind, especially for neat cattle. 

Culture — The seed is usually sown with winter wheat or other grain 
crops, late in February or in March, whilst the ground is still subject to 
freezing and thawing, and the seed can thus gain admission into the soil. 
Or it may be sown with the oat, or other spring or summer crop, in which 
case, having the advantage of being harrowed in, it can generally be sown 
with even greater success than when put with a crop of winter grain. Too 
little seed is generally applied, the quantity required being from ten to four- 
teen pounds per acre. 

Clover is frequently turned under in the fall, to enrich the ground prepar- 
atory to a crop of wheat, or in the ensuing spring for the benefit of Indian 
corn. The best time for turning down is in the rankest and most juicy 
stage of its growth. Being a biennial plant, clover, of course, leaves the 
field after the second year, unless allowed to seed itself. "When timothy 
has been sown with it, it obtains possession of the field, where it is gener- 
ally allowed to remain two or more years longer, affording the richest of 
all kinds of hay for horses, although for neat cattle the mixture of red clover 
and timothy is generally preferred. 

Clover hay, when fed unmixed to horses, often produces a cough. This 
can always be removed by substituting timothy for a few weeks, after which, 



148 FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 

the feed may consist of half clover and half timothy, with little or no danger 
of producing cough. When the clover hay is fed from large troughs or 
mangers, instead of racks above the head, horses escape tlie cough. 

The first year's growth of clover is sometimes mown for hay and some- 
times pastured, and the second crops devoted to hay and furnishing seed. 
When the second crop is pastured in spring, the stock must not be turned 
on before the ground has become so firm that hoofs will not sink into the 
sod, nor until the growth is such as to enable the cattle to thrive. The 
pasturage may be continued from the middle of April or first of May, for 
about six weeks, when the cattle are to be withdrawn, and the second crop 
allowed to go to seed for saving. 

The common practice of spreading clover hay from the swath causes the 
leaves and blossoms to dry and crumble before the haulm or stems are suf- 
ficiently cured. In this way, either the finer parts of the hay are lost, or 
the crop is housed with so much moisture as to cause it to heat, and often 
to spoil. It should only be spread when it has become wet with rain in the 
Bwath, and should be gathered again before the leaves dry and crumble. 
Both these evils may be avoided, and labor saved, by curing the grass 
wholly in swath and cock. The clover should be left to wilt in the swath, 
and when partially dried, either to turn the swaths or to make grass-cooks 
the same day, so as to secure the dried portions from the dew. These 
g-rass-cocks are allowed to stand one, two, or three days, according as the 
weather is, and as the curing process has progressed, when they are 
opened at nine or ten o'clock on a fair day, the hay again turned over 
between eleven and three, and, soon after turning, gathered for the cart. 
Some care is required in making the cocks. The grass is collected with 
forks and placed on dry ground between the swaths, in as small a compass 
as possible at the base, say two or three feet in diameter, and rising in a 
cone to the height of four or five feet. The advantages of this mode of 
curing clover are — 1 . The labor of spreading from the swath is saved . 

2. The labor of the hand-rake is abridged, or may be wholly dispensed 
with, if the horse-rake is used to glean the field when the hay is taken off. 

3. It prevents, in a great measure, injury from dew and rain ; for these 
cocks, if rightly constructed, (not by rolling,) will withstand a rain of some 
days, without heating, or becoming more than superficially wet. 4. Clover 
hay made in this way may almost invariably be housed in good condition ; 
and, if rain falls after the grass is mown, the quality of the hay is much 
superior in cocks to what it would be under the old process of curing. 

Many prefer mowing the clover before it gets very ripe, as then so much 
of the seed would not be shaken oflf during the operations of curing, remov- 
ing, &c. As the hay of the seed-crop is seldom considered of much value. 



THE HEAVY OR FIELD CROPS. 



149 



except for litter and manure, it is frequently left long in the field to become 
thoroughly dry, so as to insure it against heating in the mow or stack, as 
this would be far more injurious to the seed than exposure to weather. 
Besides mowing the seed-crop in the usual manner for hay, several other 
methods have been devised. The one most usually resorted to in Pennsyl- 
vania is the employment of a scythe and cradle to cut off the heads, which 
are caught by a kind of bag attached to the lower fingers, the rest being 
removed. Or, the upper fingers being removed, the lower ones may be 
placed sufficiently close to catch the heads. Many contrivances are in use 
for gathering the heads in the field. 

In getting the seed from the heads, it has been common to employ the 
flail ; and, to clear it from the husk and chaff, recourse has been had to a 
clover-mill, worked either by water, steam, or horse power. 

The old method of threshing out ciover-seed by the flail, or by the tramp- 
ing of horses, has been generally regarded as very tedious and disagreeable ; 
so much so, indeed, as to have discouraged most farmers from attempting to 
gather the seed at all ; but the introduction of threshing-machines has obvi- 
ated all difficulty of this kind. 

THE GRASSES. 

Varieties. — The species of grass which may be regarded as most valuable 
in our meadows and pastures are : — 1, Meadow or green grass ; 2, Tim- 
othy ; 3, Orchard grass ; 4, Meadow fescue ; 5, Blue grass ; 6, Ray 
grass ; 7, Red-top ; 8, Sweet-scented vernal grass. These, among the 
almost infinite varieties, are considered about the most valuable 




First, — Meadow or Green Grass, also called Spear or June Grass, highly 
esteemed for hay and pasture. It is a native variety, and abounds through 
13* 



150 farmer's hand-book. 

the country, but does not perfect itself north of the Ohio valley. It with- 
stands the frost, and prefers a warm, dry, limy, or rich upland soil. 

Second, — The Timothy, Cat's Tail ox Herd^s Grass. For the Northern 
States this is unsurpassed, flourishing in all soils except such as are wet, 

Fig. 79. 




too light, dry, or sandy; is easy of cultivation, hardy, and very productive. 
For milch cows and young stock, it should be cut while it is juicy. May 
be sown upon wheat or rye, in the spring or early fall. 
Third, — The Orchard Grass, or Caches Foot, a native variety, well suited 

Fis:. 80. 




to good arable lands. Should be cut before wholly ripe, and be fed closely. 
Will grow in all parts of the United States. 

Fourth, — The Meadow Fescue; likes a rich, boggy soil, is quite produc- 



THE HEAVY OK FIELD CROPS. 



151 



tive and forward, the grass being of a kind much relished by cattle, either 
green or hay. 

Fig. 81. 




Fifth, — The Blue Grass, or Flat-stalked Meadow; an early dwarfish 
grass, growing in the Middle and Northern States. It is hardy, but is 
more valuable for pasture than hay. 

Sixth, — The Raj/ Grass, or Rt/e Grass ; extensively grown in some parts 

Fig. 82. 




of Europe, but does not do so well in this country, except in elevated and 
humid districts. 

Seventh, — The Red-top, Herd's Grass, Foivl Meadow, or Fine Bent ; a 
native perennial variety, valuable for hay and pasture, on lands adapted to 
its growth, which are reclaimed swamps and other moist grounds. Tliia 



152 



farmer's hand-book. 



grass and timothy are fit for the scythe about the same time, and, there- 
fore, fit to be sown together. 



Fig. 83. 




Eighth, — The Sweet-scented Vernal Grass. This is a foreign perennial 
grass, of dwarfish habit, sown principally on grounds intended for pasture, 



Fig. 84. 




on account of the very early feed it affords, and for its growing quick after 
being cropped. It is delightfully fragrant. 



Fig. 85. 




In addition to the preceding varieties, there is the Pony Grass (Fig. 85), 
which is considered one of the best winter grasses for the Western States, 



THE HEAVY OR FIELD CROPS. 153 

grows in close, thick, elevated tufts, and continues green through the cold 
season. 

Annual Spear Grass is an early, sweet grass, much relished by cattlo ; 
but it will not stand drought. 

Barn, or Barnyard, G7-ass flourishes on moist, rich, or well-manured 
soils, is very succulent and nutritive, and well relished by stock. Flowers 
in the latter part of summer, and beginning of autumn. 

Black Grass grows luxuriantly along the margins of salt marshes liable 
to periodical overflow by the tides. When cut early, and well cured, it 
makes a very excellent hay, although not equalling in weight that of 
many other varieties. 

Crab Gi'ass, a native of India, now grown in the Unrked States, is an 
early grass, which requires a moist, rich soil. 

Crested Dog's Tail Grass grows well in upland pastures, and affords a 
wholesome food for sheep. It flowers somewhat late, and makes a beau- 
tiful covering for lawns in the latter part of summer. 

Crow-foot Grass, another native of India, naturalized in the United 
States, succeeds well. It grows well in a moist, rich soil, and makes 
excellent hay. 

Downy Oat Grass is a hardy plant, and forms a good, permanent pas- 
ture. It is common to chalky soils; but arrives at greater perfection on 
more fertile lands, which it impoverishes but little. 

Florin, or Bent Grass, an imported English variety, grows vigorously 
in moist soils and swampy grounds. Sheep and cattle are very fond of 
it. It does not suit for alternate husbandry, as, when once it has obtained 
a hold, it can scarcely be eradicated. 

Floating Fescue Grass flowers in June, and delights in very wet 
grounds. Horses and cows are very fond of it, and the superior excel- 
lence of some kinds of cheese is said to be caused by the peculiar richness 
and flavor which it imparts to the milk of cows fed upon it. 

Foxtail Grass very much resembles timothy, for which it is sometimes 
mistaken. It is extensively grown in the Middle States, and flourishes 
on any fertile soil, which is not wet. 

Gama Grass, a native of the Southern States, is one of the most prolific 
grasses under cultivation, and will bear drought when all surrounding 
vegetation is destroyed. If suffered to go to seed it becomes too coarse 
for hay; but, in its green state, it is eaten by cattle with avidity. 

Guinea Grass, a native of Africa, naturalized in the United States 
seventy years since, but now little cultivated, was formerly much esteemed 
in the South, as a most prolific and nutritive grass. It is a perennial 
plant, and may be cut four or five times during the summer. 



154 FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 

Italian Bye Grass flourishes best on fertile, well-watered soils ; but, 
notwithstanding its great trans-Atlantic repute, it does not equal timothy 
in its nutritive qualities. 

Meadow Spear Grass flowers late in June, and, being a hardy plant, 
succeeds as well on low, wet grounds, as it does on light, upland soils. 
It is eaten readily by cattle during the winter season, though it is nut 
much esteemed because of its coarseness. 

Meadow Foxtail is a perennial grass, of early growth and hardy nature, 
much relished by sheep and horses. It grows well on soils which are in 
good condition, and is very productive, continuing to shoot forth flowering 
stems until late in autumn. 

Narrow-leaved Meadow Grass forms a fine, permanent pasture. It flowers 
in June, and, before that time, its leaves, which are soft and succulent, 
attain the length of twelve inches. 

Reed. Meadow Gi'ass, which grows in wet soils, contains much nutri- 
ment, and is greedily eaten by cattle. It is too aquatic in its habits to 
allow of an extended culture. 

Ribbon Grass is well adapted to wet, boggy grounds, yields a large 
product, either in hay or pasture, and is much relished by cattle. Being 
essentially aquatic in its nature, it requires a soil well saturated with 
water. 

Rice Grass flourishes in swampy lands in the South, may be cut seve- 
ral times during the summer, and furnishes a hay fully equal to the best 
timothy. 

Salt-marsh Grass grows in muddy spots, overflowed by sea-water. Cut 
green, and made into hay, it furnishes good food for horses and cattle, 
which eat it with a relish, on account of its saline flavor. 

Sheep^s Fescue forms an excellent pasturage for sheep. It grows from 
six to ten inches high, and flowers in June. 

Smooth-stalked Meadow Grass makes an excellent hay, and affords the 
richest of pastures. It delights in a moist soil, but thrives most luxu- 
riantly in rich meadows. It is useful for making a straw plait, which 
very closely resembles Leghorn. 

Tall Fescue Grass, a native perennial, is very luxuriant and productive, 
but not a favorite on account of its coarseness. It grows well in boggy 
meadows, and flowers in July. 

Tall Meadow Oat-Grass, which blossoms in May. is preferred by horned 
cattle before all other grasses, and yields an abundance of good, sweet 
hay. Mixed with clover, it makes a good upland meadow. 

Lands alternately in Grass and Tillage.— In laying down lands to grass- 
the most important primary object is duly to prepare them for the recef- 



THE HEAVY OR FIELD CROPS 



155 



tion of the seeds. The soil ought to be brought into the highest possible 
degree of fertility ; for, although land may be too rich for the production 
of some crops, it is quite otherwise in the case of grass. Besides being 
rich, the land should also be well pulverized by tillage ; otherwise, the 
irregularity of the surface will not only occasion an irregularity in the 
produce of the crop, but it will be liable to be damaged by excessive 
droughts, before the plants can have extended their roots, or become 
firmly settled in the land. 

The time of sowing the seeds of the cultivated grasses depends on the 
nature of the land, the state of the weather, and the kind of crop amongst 
•which they are sown. Among the numerous inventions for sowing seed 
broadcast, the one here figured is very simple and convenient. When 

Fig. 86. 




sown with corn, the seed-time is invariably in the spring. The autumn 
is preferable when they are sown exclusively by themselves. This prac- 
tice has been recommended, in the case of laying down lands to perma- 
nent grass, as being calculated to afi'ord a thicker and better sward. The 
value of the grass crop is, no doubt, in some degree, afiected by the ex- 
hfiustion of the soil occasioned by the production of the preceding crop 
of corn, but not in a degree commensurate with the latter; besides, the 
period in the rotation at which the smaller seeds should be sown is imme- 
diately after the land is manured, and, in this case, the severity of the 
corn crop is felt. After being sown, the seeds quickly germinate, and, in 
favorable situations, they will have attained a considerable height before 
the commencement of the corn harvest ; and when the corn is cut down 
close to the ground, they are cut and winnowed with the straw, and add 
considerably to the value of the latter for fodder. After harvest, tho 
ground may be slightly pastured with calves and sheep; throughout the 



156 FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 

winter the land is to remain untouched. In the succeeding spring, clear 
the land of stones, and afterwards the surface is to be raked to break 
down the stubble of the preceding crop, and further to prepare the land 

Fig. 87. 




for the action of the scythe towards the first of June. When, however, 
the crop is set apart for pasturage, the earliest and richest herbage is to 
be obtained in the second year. 

Soiling. — When the practice of soiling, or cutting the crop and con- 
suming it in a green state, is pursued, the part containing a large quan- 
tity of the clovers should be' chosen, while that in which the grasses pre- 
dominate may be made into hay. The crop may be cut for soiling earlier 
than for hay. Soiling is, in many cases, advantageous ; in others, it is 
not. Certain animals do not thrive unless enjoying the air and exercise 
attendant on pasturage, and, in most cases, a portion of the farm is una- 
voidably in pasture, as, for instance, grass land in the second and third 
year. Soiling and depasturing may be somewhat combined by turning 
animals out to the pastures during the cool parts of the day, and feeding 
them in the house towards noon. 

Haying. — The portion of the crop which is not cut for soiling is made 
into hay. The period when the crop should be cut down, when intended 
for hay, is just when the plants have attained their full size ; and the 
flowers, which just then are coming on, should not, in any degree, have 
begun to fade before the crop is cut down. The plants are laid in swaths 
by the action of the scythe, and as soon as these are dried on the top, 
they are completely turned over by a fork in such a manner as not to 
break or spread, and these swaths may be put into cocks in the evening, 
which are afterwards made into ricks, or conveyed to the stack. When 
not dry enough to be carried from the small cocks to the stack, it must 



THE HEAVY OR FIELD CROPS. 



157 



be formed into large cocks or ricks in the field,, there to stay until fit tc 
be stored in a larger stack. By the use of a hay-elevator (Fig. 88), a load 

Fig. 88. 




of hay may be transferred from a wagon to the mow or stack in a very few 
minutes. In forming the stacks, a layer of straw is usually spread over 
the bottom, or stand, and the hay is then regularly spread and trodden 
down, observing to keep the middle of the stack well raised. In this 
manner, it is carried up to the height of several feet, projecting slightly 
to the eaves, so as to overhang the sides, to guard the lower part from 
rain. The roof is then raised to a considerable height in a slanting form, 
with gable ends ; and, being thus formed, the loose hay which projects 
from the sides and ends of the stack is pulled, until all is smooth and 
regular, and the stack is then bound down with ropes. Salt, in small 
quantity, is sometimes strewed upon the hay, as the building of the stack 
proceeds, to stop fermentation, and render the hay palatable. Imme- 
diately after the hay is removed from the field, cattle may be turned in 
for several days. The length of time which the land is afterwards con- 
tinued in grass depends on the course of cropping practised on the farm. 
According to the alternate husbandry, it cannot be longer than one or 
14 



158 



FARMER'S HAND-BOOK 




THE HEAVY OR FIELD CROPS. 159 

two seasons, for, under any circumstances, it is not good management to 
keep land more than three years in grass. The revolving horse hay-rake 

Fig. 90. 




(Fig. 90,) was formerly in extensive use, but it has been in a great 
measure superseded by more labor-saving machines, of which Delano's 
movable tooth-rake (Fig. 89,) is one of the best. 

Hay-Caps. — So much hay has been injured in the fields by rain, after 
it has been fully cured, that it has been found economical to make covers, 
and spread them over the hay-cocks, as a protection from the weather. 
These, styled " hay-caps," are made of stout, unbleached sheeting, forty- 
five inches square, well coated with a mixture composed of one gallon 
of linseed oil, four pounds of beeswax, and one quart of japan. A stone 
sewed into each corner, to prevent it from being blown ofi" by the wind, 
is then the only thing required to complete the article for use. Larger- 
sized covers, made in the same manner, are used for the protection of 
hay while on the wagon, or in permanent stacks. 

Pressing Hay. — A variety of machines have been used for the purpose 
of packing hay in bales for market, all of which have some merit. 
That illustrated in Fig. 91 (Dederick's), one of the latest inventions, is 
believed to be more perfect than any heretofore employed. There being 
no unnecessary friction to overcome, the power is proportionally in- 
creased. This machine is also used for packing cotton, hops, hemp, 
cloth, etc. Instead of being obliged to build a press, farmers may now 
have them made to order with as much facility as any of the other labor- 
saving machines. 



160 



FARMER'S HAND-BOOK, 



Fiff. 91. 




Lands Permanently in Grass. — The management of lands of this de- 
scription is somewhat different from that of grass land merely interposed 
in the course of cropping of arable lands, to prevent the exhaustion of 
the nutrient parts of the soil consequent upon incessant tillage. From 
the short period in which the land is, in the latter case, in grass, manure 
is seldom applied to the surface, though often indispensable in the former. 
Various other operations are also performed to remedy those defects which 



THE UKAVy OR FIELD CROPS. 161 

are natural consequences resulting from lands being long kept in grass. 
Such lands naturally divide themselves into two classes — those fit either 
for mowing or pasture, and those fit for pasture only. 

Perennial Grass Lands Jit for Mowing, or Meadow Lands. — Under the 
terra meadow are included all such lands as are kept in grass chiefly for 
tlie sake of the hay-crop, though occasionally, and at particular seasons 
of the year, it may be depastured. The value of the natural meadow 
depends much on the situation, as well as on the quality, of the land. 
There are three descriptions of these meadows ; those on the banks of 
streams and rivers, those on the uplands or more elevated grounds, and 
bog meadows. 

The meadows situated along the banks of rivers and streams are, in 
general, by far the most valuable, and should never be converted into 
tillage. The principal defects to which such lands are liable, are the 
oozing out of the springs towai'ds their junction with the higher grounds, 
and the overflowing of the stream or river : tlic former evil is to be 
remedied by draining, and the latter by supplying embankments, well 
fortified with osiers. 

Upland meadows require more attention than valleys and holms, being 
more difiicult to drain, and requiring frequent manuring. The roots of 
grasses never strike deep into the soil; and thus, deriving their nourish- 
ment chiefly from the surface, the utility of top-dressing is obvious. The 
irregular surface of uplands is frequently much injured by superfluous 
moisture, and the surface is generally covered by inferior herbage and 
by mosses, the remedy for which consists in a very thorough course of 
tillage. 

Boggy land is generally least valuable. When thoroughly drained, 
the culture of herbage plants is about the most profitable way of occupy- 
ing it. When under tillage, its cultivation is very difficult ; but when so 
far improved as to warrant its being laid down in grass, large crops may 
be obtained at comparatively small expense. 

More than one crop is rarely obtained from the natural meadows. The 
time of cutting the crop is later than that of the cultivated meadow, the 
proper time being just before the formation of the seed. After being 
cut, the grass is allowed to remain for a short time in the swath, and is 
then scattered evenly over the surface of the ground. If the weather be 
fine, the grass is soon formed, with the rake, into what are called wind- 
rows, which, after standing a few hours, may be formed into cocks of 
small size, by simply grasping a quantity of the grass, which had been 
previously shaken in a heap, and placing it on a part of the surface that 
14* • 



162 FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 

has been raked. The next day these cocks are again spread abroad, 
then formed into wind-rows, and again put into cocks, of a larger size, 
in the evening. In a day or two these will be ready for putting into 
ricks, if the weather be fine ; if it be not, a much longer time may be 
required, and the cocks will have to be again shaken out and re-formed 
into larger, before the hay is ready for the rick. 

In certain situations, the raising of hay on the natural meadow will 
be found the most simple and economical way of occupying such lands 
as are suited to it. Frequent manurings are, however, essential to their 
productiveness ; the best manure being composts of lime, to be applied 
in the spring. 

Permanent Pastures. — The drainage of lands permanently ia grass 
greatly improves them. Cuts are made along the hollows of the field, 
which convey the water to the most convenient outlet, and small drains, 
formed either by a plough or spade, open into them. These need not be 
more than a foot deep, though numerous, especially in hollow places. 
Having drained off the surface water, the tendency to rot will be obviated. 
Weeds, shrubs, and mosses should be thoroughly removed, which can 
be done by the hand, by the use of the plough, by draining, and by a 
course of tillage. 

Lime, applied to the surface of grass lands, either alone or combined 
with other matters, is beneficial, after superfluous moisture has been 
removed. When, from frequent rolling and the treading of animals, the 
surface of grass lands gets into a tenacious state, scarifying will go far 
to remedy the evil. This operation is quite useful before any top-dressing 
is applied. 

The time of stocking pastures in spring must depend on the season ; 
and the state of growth which it is desirable the plants should attain 
before being stocked must, in some degree, be determined by the condi- 
tion and description of the animals to be employed in consuming the 
herbage, — wljether they are only in a young state, or approaching to 
fiitness, — whether milch cows or sheep, or a mixture of animals of dif- 
ferent species. The great objects to be aimed at are, that the stock, of 
whatever kind it may be, shall be carried forward faster or slower, 
according to the object in view, and that none of the herbage shall be 
wasted. 



I 



THE HEAVY OR FIELD CROPS. 



163 



MOTIVE POWERS, ETC., FOR FARM PURPOSES. 

The Wind-Mill is one of the most economical motive powers which can 
be used upon a farm, as, if the machine is well made, on a good prin- 
ciple, it requires no repairs for some years, and then only those of the 
most simple and inexpensive character. The most perfect, yet simple, 

Fig. 92. 




wind-mill now in use in the United States, is that of Mr. C. R.Webb, 
Fhiladelnhia (Fig. 92), which, with a moderate breeze, will grind eight 



164 



FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 



bushels of grain per hour, and, at the same time, raise water to the 
height of from fifty to one hundred feet. Being self-regulating, it can be 
started or stopped by even a child, without going outside of the building 
on which it is placed. 

Horse Power. — Fig. 93 represents a vertical horse-power, which may, 
however, be geared for a horizontal movement, if preferred. It is adapted 

Fie;. 93. 




to one or more horses, as may be required, and is a compact, durable, 
very simple, and cheap power. It may be used for driving a threshing- 
machine, for supplying power to a portable or stationary grist-mill, and 
for all the various purposes to which the wind-mill is applicable. 

Patent Grist-Mill. — Beside grinding all kinds of grain into flour, these 
mills (Fig. 94) are calculated for supplying feed-stuff of any required 



THE HEAVY OR FIELD CHOPS. 



165 



fineness. These machines are so simple that they can be regulated by 
any person of ordinary capacity ; and, according to size, they will grind 




from seven to twenty-two bushels of corn per hour. Any kind of powei 
can be applied to them, whether wind-, water-, steam-, or horse-power. 



CHAPTER III. 

PLANTS CULTIVATED FOR THEIR USES IN THE ARTS, 
AND FOR THEIR OILS. 

INDIGO — MADDER — WELD — WOAD TURMERIC — SUMACH — BASTARD SAFFRON 

TEASEL COLZA — RAPE — SUN FLOWER CASTOR OIL PLANT. 

INDIGO. 
Description. — This is an extensive genus of rather elegant plants, with 
tap roots, most of the species of which produce the well-known dye called 
indigo, the finest of all vegetable blues. The genus belongs to the natural 
order Leguminosce ; the flowers resembling those of the pea tribe. Th.a 
upper petal is round, and notched at the point; the two lower petals fur- 
nished with an awl-like spur on both sides ; the stamens are united in 
two parcels; the style is thread-like; and the fruit, shaped like a pea- 
pod, is divided into two parts, containing one or more seeds. 

Fig. 95. 




Varieties. — The varieties cultivated are: the wild [Indigofera argentea), 
the Guatemala (J. dispermea), the French (J. tiiictorid), and the I. caerulea, 
which yields the finest indigo. 

Soil. — When cultivated, indigo thrives best in a free, rich soil, and in 
a warm situation, frequently refreshed with moisture. In the West Indies 
it may be grown on comparatively poor, dry soils, but to most advantage 

(IGG) 



m 



PLANTS YIELDING DYES, OILS, ETC. 167 

in those that are fertile. In the Southern States, however, the plant re- 
quires a good, rich, deep soil. These States are peculiarly adapted to 
the culture of the indigo plant, and, a half century since, the finest indigo 
ever produced was grown in the Carolinas. 

Culture. — The ground having been first properly mellowed with the 
plough, and then harrowed, the seeds may be sown with a drill, in rows 
distant from each other about twelve or fourteen inches. As the plants 
shoot up they "must be frequently weeded, and carefully tended, until 
they spread suflSciently to cover the ground. When cultivated in great 
quantities, the seeds are merely strown rather thickly in little shallow 
pits, hoed up at a distance of six or seven inches apart, and immediately 
covered with earth. Plants thus raised thrive rather better than those 
sown in drills, but they require more care in weeding. They arrive at 
full perfection in two or three months, and answer the purpose best when 
cut in full blossom. With a reaping-hook they are cut off a few inches 
from the root, tied up in bundles, conveyed to the works, and laid in the 
steeper by strata. Four bushels of seed will sow twenty acres, and that 
quantity of land may be cultivated by sixteen hands. From rich land, 
the yield in twelve months will average five hundred pounds of indigo 
to the acre; for, if kept free from weeds, the plant will yield three or four 
crops each year, as it rattoons, or sends up new shoots after each cutting. 
It must, however, be replanted every season. 

Extraction of the Dye. — When the lower leaves begin to dry, and while 
the morning dew is still on them, the plants are cut, and immediately 
immersed in vats, where they remain until macerated. The liquor is 
then drawn off into another vat, in which it is beat until the fecula sepa- 
rates, when the latter is let off into a third vat, and allowed to stand for 
some time. It is then strained through cloth bags, and afterwards eva- 
porated to dryness in shallow wooden boxes, placed in a shady situation. 
Before becoming quite hard it is cut into square pieces, and packed in 
cases for shipment. Indigo is not contained ready formed in the plant, 
but is produced by the oxidation of some substance there present. Fer- 
mentation is not essential to its extraction, as a mere infusion of the 
plant in hot water deposits indigo by standing in the air. The only 
solvent of pure indigo is sulphuric acid, with which it forms a deep blue 
pasty mass, soluble in water, and largely used in dyeing. For the man- 
ufacture of indigo on a small scale, ordinary barrels will supply the place 
of vats ; and holes bored in them at regular intervals from top to bottom 
will serve to draw off the liquor as required. 

Uses. — The coloring matter of indigo is largely used in manufactures, 
principally for dyeing woollen and cotton fabrics, and for coloring mo- 



168 FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 

rocco. Large quantities of an inferior article are annually imported, 
which would not be the case if the plant were cultivated in the South to 
the same extent as formerly. Manufacturers would abandon the use of 
the imported article if they could obtain the home product in sufficient 
quantity, as it is vastly superior to any which can be obtained from 
abroad. Beside yielding; indigo, the J. tinctoria is also medicinally em- 
ployed, and the powdered leaf of the /. anil is used in some diseases of 
the liver. " 

MADDER. 

Description. — Dyer's madder [Buhia tinctorum,) has a perennial root, 
and an annual stalk. The root is composed of long, succulent fibres, as 
thick as a man's little finger, which strike deep into the ground, some- 
times extending to a distance of three feet. From the upper part of the 
root many lateral fibres diverge, which extend to a great distance, just 
beneath the surface of the ground, and then send up numerous shoots, 
which, if carefully removed in the spring soon after they appear above 
ground, and replanted elsewhere, will furnish new plants. The leaves 
are four or six in a whorl, lanceolate, with the midrib on the under disk, 
and the margins aculeated. The flowers, which are small, are supported 
on axillary tripartite flower-stalks. The dried root is long, of a cylin- 
drical character, about the bulk of a goose-quill, branched, and invested 
with a reddish cuticle, which, as well as the bark, is readilj separable. 
In 'a fresh state the color is yellow, but by drying it becomes reddish. 
It has a feeble odor, and a bitter, astringent taste. The best coloring 
matter is prepared from the heart of the root, and the older roots are pre- 
ferable to the young ones. 

Soil. — The soils most suitable for the growth of madder are deep, fer- 
tile, sandy loams, containing a considerable infusion of lime and vegetable 
matter, and not retentive of moisture. It will grow in light soils, if they 
are fertile, and of sufficient depth, provided they are well manured. 

Culiure. — Plough the land deep in September, and again in October, 
and thus let it lie in ridges during the winter, to be acted on by the frost. 
When the spring has opened, and the ground become dry and warm, 
plough again deeply, and harrow well. Then strike the land off into 
ridges with a one-horse plough, making them three feet wide, with water- 
furrows four feet in width between. If the ground is moist, raise the 
ridges ten or twelve inches above the natural surface ; but, if it be dry, 
six or eight inches elevation will be sufficient. A light harrow may then 
be used to level and shape the ridges. The time for planting is usually 
during the month of May, or even earlier, if there is no danger of severe 



PLANTS YIELDING DYES, OILS, ETC. 169 

frosts. The land having been prepared as above indicated, stretch a line 
lengthwise of the beds, and, with a hoe, make holes six inches from the 
edge, along both margins of the bods, and also in the middle, leaving a 
space of twelve inches between each hole. Into these insert the sets, and 
cover them from two to four inches deep with fine earth, and press it 
down with the foot. As soon as the young plants appear above ground, 
they must be carefully hoed, with the view of destroying the weeds ; and 
this must be repeated as often as the weeds reappear. If any of the sets 
have failed to grow, the vacancies may be supplied during June or July, 
by taking up and transplanting parts of the strongest roots. When the 
plants have attained tlie height of ten or twelve inches, the tops must be 
covered, with the exception of their extreme ends, with fine earth shovelled 
from the alleys. They should be bent outward as well as inward, so as 
to fill all the vacant spaces, and this operation should be repeated as often 
as tlie plants become sufficiently long, which is usually three times during 
the first season. The purpose of this is to assist the plants to form new 
roots, with which it is desirable to fill the ground as fast as possible.- 
The second year the beds must be freed from weeds, and the tops of the 
plants covered with earth as before, which may be repeated two or three 
times during the season. Care must be used to keep the edges of the 
beds as high as the centres ; otherwise, the rains will run off, and the 
crop suffer from drought. The third and fourth years but little attention 
will be required, as the plants cover the entire ground, and the few weeds 
•which may appear can be readily picked out. The roots are ploughed 
out during September of the third year in some States, and during the 
same month of the fourth year in others: those grown in warm lati- 
tudes arriving at maturity much sooner than those cultivated in colder 
situations. 

Ploughing out the Boots. — The tops of the plants must first be removed 
with a sharp-edged shovel, which takes off, at tiie same time, about half- 
an-inch of the surfixce earth. Then attach a powerful span of horses to 
a large plough, and turn a furrow outward, beam deep, around the edge 
of each bed, and let the hands rake and pick out the roots from the fur- 
row. Plough another furrow beam deep, as before, inside of the last, 
and thus proceed until the beds have been entirely turned over. 

Cleansing and Drying the Roots. — As soon as possible, take the roots 
to some running stream in the vicinity, or to the pump, and put them, 
half a bushel at a time, into a large, open-mouthed sieve, and wash them 
perfectly clean. When washed, lay them on slanting platforms to dry. 
These platforms should be about two feet high at one end, and slope down 
to eight inches at the bottom, and be erected in rows, not far from the 
15 



ItO FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 

farm buildings. After the second or third day's drying, the roots must 
be protected from dews at night, and from rain, by placing several of 
the platforms one upon another, and covering the upper one with boards. 
In the morning, or when danger from rain has passed, they may be again 
spread out. In five or six days they will be sufficiently dry to stow away, 
preparatory to grinding. Some prefer drying in kilns, like those used 
for malt or hops. 

Grinding the Roots. — As soon as the roots are thoroughly dried, they 
may be broken in a cast-iron bark-mill, and then cleansed by a fixnning 
machine, after which they may be ground fine in a grist-mill, and packed 
in barrels like flour. If not packed immediately they gather dampness 
from the atmosphere, which prevents them from grinding freely. The 
addition of a little carbonate of lime while grinding improves the color 
considerably. 

P)-opagation and Preservation of Sets. — Sets may be produced by sow- 
ing the seed in a fine, light earth, one year before the plants are wanted, 
and then transplanting them. Sets of one inch in length maybe planted 
for one year in a garden, and then removed to the field-bed. The selec- 
tion of sets from the growing crop should be made when it is dug in the 
fall. Those which grow horizontally, and have numerous eyes, are 
regarded as the best, and should be separated from the lower roots, and 
buried in the cellar during the winter. Previous to planting, they should 
be cut into pieces containing from two to five eyes each. 

Uses. — Madder is a principal ingredient in nearly all the dyes used by 
calico printers ; and for woollen goods it furnishes blue, black, purple, 
red, bufi", orange, olive, yellow, brown, and many other colors. The 
profit of the crop is immense, and the market not easily glutted. The 
haulm has been sometimes fed to cattle; but it is rarely used, as it tinges 
with a red color, not only the milk, but also the urine, the perspiration, 
and even the bones. It was formerly used as a medicine for the cure of 
jaundice, but it is now known to possess no curative properties whatever. 



WELD. 

Description. — Weld, a native of the south of Europe, is an imperfect 
biennial, with small, fusiform roots, and a smooth, wand-like, leafy stem, 
from one to three feet in height. The leaves are dark green, linear- 
lanceolate, single-ribbed, obtuse, and entire: the flowers, which blow in 
July, are small, greenish-white, without much smell, and grow in large 
terminal clusters, which are many-flowered. It belongs to the mignonette 
family [Resedacece), and is sometimes found in earth brought from a great 



JPLANTS YIELDING DYES, OILS, ETC. 171 

depth, as the rubbish of coal-mines. Weld is cultivated for the sake of 
its stalks, flowers, and leaves, wliich afford a line yellow dye, used for the 
coloring of cotton, silk, wool, and otlier substances. In conjunction with 
indigo, it forms a beautiful green ; and it is preferred to all other dyes 
for the production of a lively green leuion-yellow; but the material to be 
colored must first be prepared with a mordant of alum and cream tartar, 
in order to render the yellow permanent. It is the most easily cultivated 
of all the plants used for the preparation of dyes. 

Soil. — It grows on a great variety of soils, but fertile loams produce 
the best return. It is rather an exhausting crop ; for which reason it 
has never been very extensively cultivated. 

Culture. — The soil is usually well prepared, by ploughing and harrow- 
ing, and the seed sown, either broad-cast or in drills, during the month 
of May, or later, and lightly covered. From two quarts to one gallon 
is sown to the acre ; and, if the seed is not very fresh, it is steeped in 
water for two or three days previously. It is also cultivated in the same 
manner as the grasses, being sometimes mixed with clover and grass 
seeds, and plucked out from among them when it is in flower. Sown 
among corn, on very rich soils, it occasionally answers very well, pro- 
vided that the plants are weeded, hoed, and the ground well stirred, as 
soon as the corn crop has been removed. The drill system is, however, 
much the best; the drills being made twelve inches apart, and the 
plants, after they shout up, thinned out until they stand at six inches 
distance from each other in the row. They then admit of cultivation in 
the usual mode. 

Gathering the Crop. — The plants flower in July of the second year, 
and the proper period for pulling them is when the bloom has been pro- 
duced the whole length of the stems, and the plants are just beginning 
to turn of a light, or yellowish color. The plants are pulled up by the 
roots in small handsful, which are tied round with a wisp of straw or one 
of the stalks, and set upright, in stacks of four or five bundles each, to 
dry. AVhen sufficiently dry, which is usually in about a fortnight, they 
are bound up into larger bundles, containing sixty handsful each, and 
weighing about fifty-six pounds. Sixty of these bundles constitute a 
load. In this state the plants are ready for sale ; or they may be stacked 
and preserved for a number of years, without injury. 

Value of the Crop. — The produce varies acfcording to the nature of 
the season, from half a ton to two tons per acre; and its cultivation 
sometimes yields a large profit — but the demand is uncertain, being 
eometimes very trifling, and at others so great as to raise the price to a 
very high figure. 



1*72 FARMER'S HAND-BOOKi 

Saving the Seed. — For this purpose a sufficient number of the largest 
and healthiest plants are set aside, and left stand until the seed are per- 
fectly ripe. The latter are very easily separated. 

Uses. — It is used in dyeing for imparting a yellow color to cotton, 
woollen, mohair, silk, linen, etc. Blue cloths are changed to green by 
being dipped in a decoction of it, and Dutch pink owes to it the yellow 
color which is its peculiar characteristic. 

WOAD. 

Description. — The woad [Isatis tinctoria), one of those plants which 
yield the deep-blue coloring matter so greatly valued in the arts, was 
most extensively cultivated in Europe previous to the introduction of the 
indigo of commerce. It is a very hardy triennial plant, with a hairy, 
branching stalk, which rises to the height of from three to five feet, very 
leafy, and panicled at the top. The panicle is composed of many com- 
pound racemose branches, covered with minute lanceolate leaves, which, 
as also the stalks, have a yellow color. The leaves, which are numerous, 
and small, are also of a bright yellow. The root of the plant is tapering 
and fibrous. 

Soil, — A good crop maybe obtained upon alluvial soils, but strong 
soils are preferable, provided they are not too much inclined to clay. 
Wet, moist lands will not answer; and the plant flourishes best in a rich, 
deep, mellow soil, such as may be found along the borders of large rivers, 
more especially if the latter is broken up for it immediately from a 
state of sward. 

Preparation of the Soil and Culture of the Plant. — The ground is 
usually ploughed deeply in the fall, reploughed in the spring, and cross- 
harrowed ; but as by this method it is next to impossible to reduce the 
old turf in one year, and the plants are endangered by the attacks of the 
grub and wire-worm, paring and burning are resorted to where the sward 
is rough, and abounding with rushes and sedge-grass. The seed is com- 
monly sown from March to July; though early sowing is preferable, as 
the plants come up stronger, and yield a larger return during the first 
season. The seed is generally sown broadcast; but a better method of 
planting is in rows, allowing a sufficient space between each to admit of 
the use of a cultivator. For broadcast sowing from five to six pounds 
of seed are required to the acre; but when drilled in, two pounds are 
amply sufficient. When procurable, new seed is always to be used in 
preference to old, which is steeped some time before being put into the 
ground, to liicilitate its germination. The after-culture comprises the 
usual routine of hoeing, thinning, stirring the earth, and weeding. 



PLANTS YIELDING DYES, OILS, ETC. JlS 

Gathering. — If sown early, the leaves of the plants are ready for har- 
vesting in July, which is done as soon as the |eaves are full grown, and 
while they still retain their perfect green color, and succulence. If 
allowed to remain until they begin to pale, they lose not only in quan- 
tity, but also in quality. The leaves are collected in baskets, w^hich are 
proportioned in number to the extent of the crop. They are picked off 
by hand, being grasped firmly, and separated from the stem by a sudden 
twist. In favorable seasons, and on well-managed lands, the plants will 
often yield two or three crops of leaves ; but seldom more than two are 
gathered, which are sometimes mixed together in the manufacture. The 
after-croppings, when taken, are carefully kept apart from the others, as 
their mixture with the first would injure the value of the entire crop. 
The average product is a ton to a ton and a half of green leaves to the 
acre. The haulm is either burned for manure, or carried to the barn- 
yard, and added to the compost-heap. 

Preparation of the Dye. — The leaves are bruised by machinery, to 
press out the watery part, afterwards formed into balls and fermented, 
reground, and fermented in vats, wherein the dye is separated in the 
same manner as that from the indigo plant. 

Saving the Seed. — For this purpose the leaves are allowed to remain on 
some of the plants during the second year. When it ripens in July or 
August, it is then treated like turnip-seed. 

Uses. — Woad is extensively used in dyeing, as a basis for black, and 
other colors. 

TURMERIC. 

Description. — Turmeric {Sangninaria Canadensis,) is a plant peculiar 
to North America, with a perennial root, fleshy, round, and abruptly ter- 
minated, which varies from one-fourth to three-fourths of an inch in 
diameter, and in length from two to fiur inches. The external color of 
the root is brownish, but internally it has a red appearance, and, when 
cut, discharges an abundance of orange-colored juice. The scape, which 
is surmounted by a single flower, rises from one end of the root to the 
height of six or seven inches. It flowers in March or April. The leaf- 
stalks, which are thicker than the scape, rise from the same part of the 
r(M)t. The leaf-stalks and scape are surrounded at the root by a common 
sheath. They are of an orange color, deepest near their junction with 
the root, and becoming paler near the leaves and flowers, where it is 
blended with green. The seeds, numerous, round, and pointed, are con- 
tained in a capsule, which is oblong, swelling in the middle, acute at 
both ends, and two-valved. 
15* 



174 FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 

5^0(7. — This plant inhabits a rich, loose soil, and, though it generally 
delights in fertile locations, yet it will grow and flourish in sandy, almost 
arid land. 

Uses. — The juice of the root makes a fine orange-colored dye, used for 
dyeing flannels, woollen cloths, cottons, silk, and linens. The root is 
used medicinally, both in tincture and in decoction. Under cultivation, 
the plant is susceptible of great improvement, and may be made a profit- 
able branch of culture as a dye. 

SUMACH 

Description. — Sumach is a shrubby plant, several varieties of which 
are indigenous to the United States. It grows from one to three feet 
high, and the stems, which throw out numerous branches, are covered 
with a brown bark. The flowers are greenish-white, and the leaves pin- 
nate, with an odd trifoliate leaflet, angularly incised, and pubescent. 
The fruit is a round drupe, about as large as a pea ; and the juice, which 
is acrid and milky, contains both tannic and gallic acids. 

Var'beties. — These are very numerous, but the principal are the Rhus 
glahrum and Rhus coriaria, powerful astringents, as well as dyes ; and 
the Rhus cotinus, or Venice sumach, which is extensively used in dyeing. 

Soil. — Sumach will grow on the most rocky and worthless land, and, 
if managed properly, such tracts will yield a larger return from a crop 
of sumach than they would under any other vegetable, even with the aid 
of careful and costly culture. 

Climate. — It is a well-known fact that the quality of sumach depends 
on the heat of the climate in which it is grown, and, consequently, that 
produced in Virginia excels in quality that grown in Delaware, as much 
as that of the latter State surpasses the sumach gathered in New York or 
Massachusetts. 

Cultivation. — The European varieties, R. coriaria and R. cotinus, have 
as yet only been raised as ornamental shrubs, in the nurseries of the 
United States. The R. glabrum grows spontaneously. No attempt seems 
to have been made to propagate it from seed, or to introduce into common 
use the foreign plants, which would doubtless arrive at equal perfection 
in the Southern States to that attained by them in Spain, Portugal, Sicily, 
and Syria. In the United States the ordinary practice is to cut over the 
growth every year, and, by keeping it down, procure an abundance of 
sprouts of the first quality. 

Preparation for market. — The plant must be cut in clear weather, and 
spread on a floor in such a manner as to allow it to dry rapidly; for, 
when fermentation begins in a small portion of it, the whole mass soon 



« 



PLANTS YIELDING DYES, OILS, ETC 175 

becomes seriously impaired. "When dry, the plants cay be cut up by a 
etraw-cutter, and put into sacks for market, or be ground fine in a bark- 
mill. 

Uses. — R. glabrum, R. coriaria, and R. cofinus, are used in dyeing and 
calico-printing; the latter variety, especially, producing beautiful golden 
and orange yellows. The two first-named varieties are used in tanning 
morocco. 

BASTARD SAFFRON. 
Description. — This is an annual plant, a native of Asia, known to bota- 
nists as the Carthamus tinctorius. It has a stiff, ligneous stalk, which 




grows to the beight of two feet and a half or three feet high, and divides 
upward into numerous branches. 

Soil and Climate. — It thrives equally well in a light soil, or in a rich, 
friable, black earth, and is cultivated in various parts of Europe, espe- 
cially in the Levant, Spain, and Germany. It is likewise produced in 
Egypt, and may be readily cultivated in the Southern States of the 
Union. 

Culture. — The seed is sown in rows, or deposited in patches, two feet 
distant each way; but, after the young plants make their appearance 
above the ground, they are thinned out, until only two or three remain 
together in one place. The soil is well stirred, and kept free from weeds, 
until August, when the flowers begin to expand. The petals of the 
florets are then cut off, and dried in the shade, or on a kiln. This ope- 
ration is performed in the early part of each day until October, when the 
plants are pulled up, sheaved, shocked, and threshed, to obtain the seeds. 
The stalks are burned, and the ashes used for manure. 



176 FARMER'S HANDBOOK. 

Uses. — Tlie petals are used in painting, and also for dyeing silks. A 
beautiful rouge is made from them. The seeds furnish an oil, which is 
used by painters and in pharmacy. 

TEASEL, 
Description. — This plant, a native of Europe, is cultivated with eminent 
Buceess in Germany, in some parts of England, and in the United States. 
It is an herbaceous biennial, growing from four to six feet in height, the 
stem and leaves rough and prickly. The flowers are whitish in color, 
with very numerous pale purple anthers, in a close, obtuse, conical head, 
the intermediate scales of which are bristly at the edges, with rigid and 
hooked points. 

Varieties. — There are three varieties: the fuller's teasel {Dipsacus fid- 
lorum), wild teasel {D. st/Ivestris), and small teasel, or shepherd's staff 
{D. pilosus). The first variety is the only one cultivated, the others being 
of no use whatever. 

Soil and Culture. — The soil should be a deep, rich, moist loam, and the 
cultivation as careful and thorough as for any garden crop. The seed is 
sown in spring, but the crop does not mature until autumn of the follow- 
ing year; and in order to procure an annual crop, the following plan has 
been used by some cultivators. The seed is planted in two rows, sixteen 
inches apart, and a space of twelve inches loft between the plants in the 
row. Then, at a distance of four feet, two more rows are planted, as 
before, and so on, alternately, over the entire field. The open spaces 
sei've for the crop of the following year, and are manured by means of a 
hand-cart. Turnip seed are frequently sown on the vacant spaces. 
Others sow the seed in rows eighteen inches apart, and subsequently thin 
them to a distance of four inches from each other in the row. The plants 
should be kept clear of weeds, and carefully tended. The same piece of 
land, if well cultivated, will bear a good crop for several years in succes- 
sion, and the quantity of seed sown varies from one to two pecks per acre, 
according to the method of cultivation. If sown broadcast, as is done in 
England, the latter quantity will be required ; but if the American drill 
system is adopted, which is far preferable, the former will suffice. 

Gathering the Crop. — The ripeness of the teasel is ascertained by its 
color, which must be of a greenish-yellow. If entirely yellow, it is an 
indication that it has been cut too late, and the strength is gone. If 
quite green it is not good, as then the teeth all run one way, and do not 
come back, not having had sufficient sun. In harvesting the crop, the 
heads are cut off as they become ripe ; though ordinarily the work is 



PLANTS YIELDING DYES, OILS, ETC. 177 

done at three different times, with intervals of ten days between eacli. 
The operator, whooe hands are covered with a pair of stout gloves, is 
furnished with a short-bladed knife, having a string attached to the 
handle, which is passed around his wrist. He seizes the ripe heads, cuts 
them off with about nine inches of the stem, and ties them up in handsful, 
with a perfectly-ripened stem. In the evening they are placed in a dry 
shed, and subsequently, when the weather is clear, they are exposed to 
the heat of the sun, until they become perfectly dry. They are then 
stowed away in a dry room, where they remain until sorted for market, 
•when they are divided into three classes, and done up with great care 
and neatness. The bur must be one and a half inches long, in order to 
be marketable. 

Saving the Seed. — A few of the finest and best plants are left uncropped, 
and when the seed is ripe, only the largest and terminating heads are cut 
off, the seed separated by the aid of a flail, and cleansed with a sieve or 
winnowing machine. 

Use. — To raise the nap on woollen cloths, for which their hooked teeth 
admirably adapt them. For this purpose they are fixed in parallel rows 
on the circumference of a broad wheel, against which the cloth is pressed 
while it is revolving. Many attempts have been made to substitute ma- 
chinery for the teasel, but without success — all machines having proved 
inefficient or injurious. The scales of the teasel are just strong enough 
to raise the wool, giving way before they can injure the cloth. The 
dressing of a piece of cloth, usually thirty-six yards in length, requires 
from 1500 to 2000 teasels, as they are repeatedly used in different parts 
of the process. Those held in highest estimation are raised in Germany 
where great pains are taken in their culture. The English, being of an 
inferior character, command a smaller price; yet they are frequently 
imported into the United States, as the German teasel. The produce of 
Connecticut is as fine as any of the imported, and farther south they 
might be brought to still greater perfection, and yield a very handsome 
return to the cultivator. 

Vabie of the Crop. — From eighty-five thousand to one hundred and 
fifty thousand, and in some cases three hundred thousand teasels, have 
been gathered from one acre of ground. The price ranges from $1.50 to 
$3 per thousand ; and at the minimum quotation the profit would be 
amply sufficient to repay the trouble of their culture. 

COLZA. 
Description and Use. — But little cultivated, as yet, in the United States, 
except among the German population of Texas, though of great import- 

M 



Its FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 

anee to the farmers of France and Belgium. Colza is a variety of the 
cabbage family, entirely distinct from rape, and two species of it are 
cultivated in France. One, a biennial, is sown in summer or autumn of 
one year, and matures its seed the following summer. The other is sown 
in the spring, and matures the same year. The first species, the Brassica 
campesiris of botanists, is called winter colza ; the other, the Brassica 
arveusis of naturalists, is known as spring colza. It is cultivated for its 
oily seed, from which the oil is extracted by pressure, and used to burn 
in lamps, as well as for many other useful purposes. The cake remain- 
ing after the extraction of the oil, forms an excellent article of food for 
cattle, and is sometimes used as a manure. 

Soil. — To insure good crops, the seed should be sown on rich, light 
soils, well manured, and carefully worked ; though very satisfactory 
returns have been received from light and gravelly soils. It flourishes 
in soils of a slightly clayey nature, if they are light in texture. 

Sowing the Seed of iciiiter Colza. — This is done in three ways, viz.: 
broadcast, in rows, and in beds for subsequent transplantation; but very 
rarely by the latter mode, except where labor is very cheap and abun- 
dant. Drill-barrows are used for sowing the seed in rows, which are laid 
off at a distance of eighteen inches from each other — thus admitting of 
the use of a cultivator for clearing out the weeds. The period of sowing 
is generally from the 15th of July to the 15th of August, and about six 
pounds of seed are used to the acre when sown broadcast, but only about 
half the quantity M'hen planted in drills; the seeds being dropped about 
one inch apart in the direction of the rows. 

Culttire. — If planted in rows, the cultivator is run through them in the 
month of March, to clean out the weeds, and loosen the soil; after which 
they require no farther attention until harvest. 

Gathering the Crop. — The winter colza matures about the beginning 
of July, and, as the seeds are apt to shed, it is necessary to cut the plants 
before they are fully ripe. This is done when the seed-pods begin to turn 
yellow and become transparent, at which time the seeds, though still 
tender, are of a dark brown color, and will ripen in the stack or mow. 
When over-ripe, the plants are cut only in the morning and evening, 
while the dew is on them. If the crop is a heavy one, the colza, imme- 
diately after being bound in sheaves, is stacked in the field where grown, 
in cone-shaped stacks, so constructed as to exclude rain, where it remains 
until the grain has fully matured, which is generally in eight or ten days. 
The fermentation which takes place in the stacks, gives the grain a fine 
color, and adds to its quality. A small crop is commonly taken at once 
into the barn, and threshed ; but large crops are sometimes trodderv out 



PLANTS YIELDING DYES, OILS, ETC. 179 

in the field by the feet of horses, the ground being covered with stout 
hempen cloth. If the seed is kept in bulk after it is threshed, it should 
frequently be turned and stirred to prevent it from heating, to which it 
is subject. As it keeps better when mixed with the chaflF, it should only 
be cleaned when about to be sold or to be pressed. 

Extracting the Oil. — This is done by putting the seed in bags, and sub- 
mitting it to the pressure of a powerful press. The refuse, like that of 
flaxseed, is called oil-cake. 

Spring Colza is very productive in new soils, but, like all oily grains 
sown in the spring, it is a very uncertain crop. It must be sown during 
the latter part of May, to insure its arrival at maturity in proper season 
for harvesting. Sown broadcast, or in drills, on the soils of recently- 
drained marshes, it is one of the most profitable plants that can be raised 
on them. Occupying the ground but a short time, it requires but little 
cultivation. 

RAPE. 

Description. — The rape (Brassica napus,) a native of Great Britain, ia 
a biennial plant of the turnip family, having a caulescent or woody fusi- 
form root, unfit to be eaten by animals. Its leaves are smooth, and, when 
cultivated, it produces an abundance of them, as well as of seeds. The 
leaves are edible, and, from the seeds, oil of a very superior quality is 
expressed, which is extensively used in the arts and for machinery, be- 
cause it does not produce spontaneous combustion like most other oils. 
It has never found great favor in this country, but now that sperm and. 
other similar oils have become scarce and expensive it might be re- 
munerative, if the proper attention was paid to its cultivation, and some 
pains were taken to ascertain what the peculiar nature of its oil more 
particularly fitted it for. In England it is found to be an excellent 
article for the fattening of cattle, who are very fond of it. A bushel of 
the seed will generally yield a gallon of oil, and the cake left after the 
expression of the oil affords a rich food for cattle. From 50 to 70 
bushels is the average per acre. 

Soil. — The soils best suited to this plant, and on which it flourishes 
most, are those of a deep, rich, dry, and kindly nature ; but it will thrive 
on almost any soil, provided it is made sufficiently rich. 

Culture. — Being a hardy plant, it requires less culture and manure 
than the turnip, and may be grown in situations where the latter cannot 
be produced with profit. It is cultivated in the same manner as the 
turnip ; the preparation of the land, its formation into drills, the manu- 
ring, and the sowing of the seed, being the same ; but the mode may be 



180 FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 

varied in accordance with the time of sowing, the nature of the soil, and 
the locality. If the seed is sown broadcast, as is the practice with many 
cultivators, four quarts will be required per acre ; but if drilled in, one- 
half that quantity will be sufficient. The drills may be placed as close 
toj»;ether as will admit of the use of a cultivator. If designed as food for 
sheep or cattle during the .lutumn and winter, the seeds are sown in 
June : but if intended to produce and ripen seed the following year, 
August or September will be early enough. The subsequent culture con- 
sists in hoeing, weeding, thinning out the plants, and keeping the soil 
in good condition. 

Gathering the Crop. — The seed ripens in July, and the plant must be 
harvested with great care to prevent loss from handling, shaking, or 
carriage, as, when the pods are quite dry, a very slight cause is suffi- 
cient to make them part with the seed. Fine weather should be selected 
for harvesting the crop, which it will be advantageous to thresh out at 
once, either on the field, or in the barn. If on the field, the ground 
should be covered with large canvass sheets, to prevent the grain from 
being tramped into the soil. As the seed is liable to heat, it must not be 
left on the threshing-flooi*, but be divided into small parcels, and fre- 
quently turned. In ordinary seasons, on rich soils, the produce will 
average from forty to seventy bushels to the acre ; but much depends on 
the nature and condition of the land, and on the tillage. 

Uses. — The oil pressed out of the seed is devoid of smell, when purified, 
and burns with a brilliant, clear flame. The cake left, after the oil ia 
expressed, furnishes a nourishing and very agreeable food for cattle, 
Avhich thrive and fatten on it; it forms also a good manure for various 
crops, particularly root crops, when sown on the drill system. As a green 
food for cattle, its leaves are unsurpassed by any other vegetable ; and 
the produce, when well manured, is enormously large. Manure makes 
the stalks so tender and juicy, that, when cut into small pieces, and fed 
in the green state to cattle, they will consume every particle of it. It is 
also an excellent preparation for wheat, because, being harvested early, 
sufficient time is allowed to get the ground in readiness for that grain. 

SUNFLOWER. 

Description. — The sunflower [Ilelianihus animus), a native of America, 
is a tall, majestic plant, having a stout, woody stalk, and bearing a flower, 
four and sometimes five inches in diameter. The flowers are of a bril- 
liant yellow color, which, together with the popular, but erroneous idea, 
that they always face the sun, gave origin to the name. Each flower 



PLANTS YIELDING DYES, OILS, ETC. 181 

will furnish about a gill of seed, which yields a most excellent oil. Its 
value as an oil-plant has been known at least a century ; yet, strangely 
enough, but little care or systematic attention has been devoted to it. It 
has filled a vacant place in the flower-bed, or in front of a shrubbery, 
while its more useful qualities have been entirely overlooked. 

Soil and CuUure. — It will flourish in almost any soil, but for profitable 
cultivation it requires a good soil, well worked, and thoroughly manured, 
as well as cleaned. One acre of land will contain 25,000 plants, at a dis- 
tance of twelve inches from each other. Sow early in the spring, in 
rows, leaving two feet between the rows. After they have attained the 
height of three feet, they require but little cultivation, beyond keeping 
the ground free from weeds. The produce will be according to the nature 
of the soil and mode of cultivation ; but the average has been found to 
range between fifty and seventy bushels to the acre, which will yield the 
same numljer of gallons of oil. 

Uses. — The oil is excellent for table use, being equal to olive-oil, for 
burning in lamps, and for the manufacture of soaps. The cake, left after 
all the oil has been expressed from the seed, furnishes a good article of 
food for swine and poultry. On the continent of Europe the stalks are 
used for pea-sticks, fuel, etc. and the leaves for fodder. Ten per cent, 
of potassa may be obtained from the stalks when burned; and the green 
leaves, dried and powdered, make excellent fodder for milch-cows, when 
mixed with bran. Poultry are very fond of the seeds. 

THE CASTOR-OIL PLANT. 

Description. — The Palma-Christi {Bicinus Communis), or Castor-Oil 
Plant, grows in various parts of the world, but is indigenous to the 

Fig. 97. 




West Indies. As grown in the United States, it is an annual, herbaceous 
plant; yet within the tropics, and in the adjacent warm climates, it 
16 



182 FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 

becomes quite a large tree, lasting for several years, having a woody 
trunk, of the size of a man's body, and growing to the height of fifteen 
or twenty feet. In the colder climates the stem rises to the height of 
from three to six feet, is round, in color greenish or reddish brown and 
blue, and branched. The leaves, which are mounted on long, round 
petioles, are peltato-palmate, and eight or ten-lobed ; the lobes lanceolate 
and serrated. The capsules are supported on stalks which are somewhat 
larger than the capsules themselves. They are covered with spines, and 
are three-celled, each cell containing an oblong, spotted, brownish seed, 
from which a powerfully-purgative oil is extracted. This property, how- 
ever, is dissipated under the effects of a high heat. 

Varieties. — There are five varieties enumerated, distinguished princi- 
pally by the color and pruinose condition of the stem — liicinus Africa- 
nus, li. macrophyllns, B. leucocarpus, R, lividus, and R. viridis. 
■ Soil. — The plant thrives best on a light, sandy loam, although it may 
be cultivated with success in almost any soil tolerably fertile, or in any 
climate and situation where Indian corn will thrive. 

Culture. — In the cooler parts of the Union it may be planted in hills, 
distant two feet by three, as early in spring as the warmth of the ground 
and season will admit. Two seeds should be planted in each place. In 
the South, where the season is longer, and the plant assumes the cha- 
racter of a tree, the hills should be six or seven feet apart in one direc- 
tion, and four feet in the other. One seed is sufficient for each hill, 
covered to the depth of two inches. The only after-culture necessary is 
to keep the ground well hilled up to the plants, and to eradicate the 
weeds whenever they make their appearance. As the seeds ripen, the 
capsules become dry and elastic, and have a tendency to fly off from the 
plant on the least touch, causing thereby a great loss of seed. To pre- 
vent this, while harvesting the crop, the branches should be separated 
from the plants as soon as the capsules begin to explode, and spread on 
the floor of a close room. After the beans and shells have sep.arated, 
the husks may be winnowed in a winnowing machine. 

Procvring the Oil. — This is done by two methods — expression and de- 
coction. 1. Expression. — The seeds are first slightly heated, and subse- 
quently subjected to powerful pressure under a hydraulic press, when a 
thick, whitish oil exudes, which is boiled for some time in a large quan- 
tity of water, until it dissolves out the mucilage, and coagulates the albu- 
men. The clean oil is then removed, and boiled with a very small quan- 
tity of water, to drive off the. acrid principle. 2. Decoction. — The seeds 
are bruised first, and then boiled in water until the oil rises to the sur- 
face, when it is skimmed off, and again boiled, to remove the acrid 



I 



PLANTS YIELDING DYES, OILS, ETC. 183 

principle. This oil is usually of a darker color than the first. The man- 
ufacture of the oil is an extensive branch of business in several parts of 
the Union. 

Uses. — The oil expressed from the seeds is used as a medicine, and is 
also prepared for illuminating purposes, for the lubrication of machinery, 
and for the manufacture of soaps. The cake left after the expression of 
the oil is very advantageously applied to land, as a manure for wheat 
and other crops. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 

rBQETABLES : ARTICHOKE ASPARAGUS BORAGE BEAN BEET BORECOLH 

BROCCOLI CABBAGE CARDOON CARROT CAULIFLOWER CELERY — 

CHIVE CORN CORN-SALAD CRESS CUCUMBER DANDELION — EGG-PLANI 

ENDIVE GARLIC HOP HORSE-RADISH LEEK LETTUCE MOREL 

MUSHROOM MUSTARD ONION OKRA PARSNIP PEA PEPPER PUMP- 
KIN RADISH RAPE RHUBARB SALSIFY 8C0RZ0NERA SEA-KALE 

SHALLOT SKIRRET SPINACH SQUASH TOMATO TURNIP. HERBS, &C. : 

ANISE BALM BASIL CARAWAY CAMOMILE CORIANDER CHERVIL 

DILL FENNEL FOXGLOVE HOREHOUND HYSSOP LAVENDER 

LIQUORICE MARJORAM MINT PARSLEY PENNY-ROYAL PEPPERMINT 

PURSLANE ROSEMARY — RUE SAFFRON SAGE SAVORY TANSY THYME ; 

WITH A MONTHLY CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS. 

I. VEGETABLES. 

Artichoke. — There are only two or three varieties of this plant culti- 
vated, the Globe and the Green. The heads, in their immature state, and 
before their blue, thistle-like flowers open, are cut and boiled in salt and 
water, the edible part being the fleshy substance on the bottom of the scales, 
which, to be relishable, has to be dipped in a nicely-prepared sauce of 
butter and spices, though it is frequently eaten as a salad in a raw state. 

Culture, (Sfc. — The artichoke is propagated from seed or from offsets. 
If by the former, sow the seed in rows a foot apart, as soon as the frost is 
out of the ground. Thin the plants to a foot apart, in the row ; and, in the 
fall of the year, put out the plants in clumps of four, in rows three feel 
apart, and the rows six feet asunder. They will produce their fruit th« 
next year. When winter approaches, earth the roots up well, and belbre 
the frost sets in, cover all well over with litter. Open it at the breaking 
up of the frost, dig all the ground well between the rows, and level the 
earth down from the plants. The young ones, or offsets, which grow out 
from the sides, must be pulled off; and, if a new plantation is wanted, they 
may be set out, and will bear late the same year. 

Artichoke (Jerusalem). — This is a small sunflower, with nutritioufl 
tubers, less in size than potatoes. /ia4\ 



THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 185 

Culture, dfc. — It is usually propag-ated by sets from the roots, in April, 
and grows in any soil which is moist, sandy, and light. It is cultivated like 
the potato. When raised for its tuber, it is liable to become troublesome, 
from tne germinating power of even the smallest piece left in the soil. It 
keeps in the ground all winter, or may be preserved under sand. In the 
Middle States it thrives well. It yields from 150 to 200 bushels of roots, 
which are eagerly devoured by swine, and, when steamed or boiled, are quite 
palatable. 

Asparagus. — There are two principal varieties, the purple-topped and 
he green-topped, the first-named being generally preferred. 

Culture, 4'C. — In the making of asparagus-beds, a proper soil is the 
fir^t thing needed — one not too wet, nor too strong, nor stubborn, but mod- 
erately light and pliable, and well manured. The situation should be one 
exposed to the sun, ranging east and west. The seed may be sown from 
the middle of February to the middle of April, — 'usually about the last of 
March. Plant five or six inches apart, one inch in depth, putting two seeds 
in each hole, or sow in drills made the same distance asunder. When the 
weather is dry, water the beds moderately ; also destroy all weeds. Tow- 
ards the end of October, as soon as the stems are wholly withered, cut 
them down, and spread them over the ground mixed with dung. The next 
spring, every other plant must be transplanted into a bed, twelve inches 
apart, if it is intended that they should attain another, or two years' further 
growth, before being finally planted out; or, they may be planted immedi 
ately in the beds for production. Many gardeners judiciously sow the seed 
in beds where they are to remain for production. The best time for the 
final removal is the end of March, if the soil be dry and the season forward. 
The beds for regular production should be three feet wide ; the usual prac- 
tice is to trench the ground two spades deep, and then cover deep with well- 
rotted manure. Growing asparagus in single rows three feet apart, giving 
no dung in winter, merely clearing off the stalks and weeds in the fall, and 
pointing over the surface about two inches deep with a fork, leaving it 
rough as possible, is a mode highly commended. In the spring, when the 
surface is quite dry, it is raked down, and about two inches of soil drawn 
over the crowns from each side of the rows. When the gathering is nearly 
over, the ground is stirred again, to loosen the tramping made m gathering 
the crop. The hollow between the little ridges is then filled up with a 
powerful compos>% and the whole is then drenched with liquid manure. 
This is summer cultivation. 

In May, or early in June, the beds are in full production of young shoots, 
which, when from two to five inches high, are fit for cutting, and as long aa 
the head continues compact and firm. Cut carefully. The seed is usually 
16* 



186 farmer's hand-book. 

ripe in September ; collect it ; and, when the pulp and husk decay, clean 
the seed with water, and then dry it. 

Forcing. — In forcing asparagus, such plants may be inserted in hot-beda 
as are five or six years old, and are of sufficient strength to produce vigor- 
ous shoots. To plant old shoots for the main forcing crop is, however, 
erroneous. The first plantation should be made about the first of October, 
and, if it works well, will begin to produce in the course of four or five 
weeks, and continue to do so for about three. The hot-bed may be made in 
the usual way, and topped with six inches of light rich earth, and kept at 
about 60° in the day time, and never below 50° at night. In planting, a 
furrow is drawn the whole length of the frame ; against one side of it the 
first row or course is to be placed, the crown upright, and a little earth 
drawn on to the lower end of the roots ; all round on the edge of the bed, 
some moist earth must be banked close to the outside roots. 

The foliage of this vegetable is liable to be destroyed by the larvae of two 
beetles, and the only remedy is to pick off and destroy the affected parts. 

Borage. — Its fresh leaves are boiled for a dinner dish, or are used in 
salads. It is aromatic, and therefore sometimes used to flavor wine. 

Culture, dfc. — A very fertile soil is not necessary ; a light and dry 
one is best suited. It is propagated by seed, sown in March or April, in 
shallow drills, half a foot apart. Transplanting is but little advantageous 
or necessary. 

Bean. — The best varieties are the Early Dwarf, Early Mazagan, and 
the Early Long-pod, the Broad Windsor, and the Dutch Long-pod. The 
first is early, the second is later, the third is very prolific, the fourth is large 
and well-flavored, and the fifth best suited for a late crop. The bean comea 
up in a week, ten days or a fortnight. 

Culture, <SfC. — The times of sowing, and the situation, for the earliest 
crops, are the same as for the pea. The seeds may be deposited in drills, an 
inch and a half or two inches deep, covered and pressed down. It is some- 
times customary to plant beans in the same rows with cabbages, and also 
with potatoes ; a bean being planted alternately with every potato-set, or 
cabbage-plant. All the routine culture consists in destroying the weeds, 
slightly earthing up the stems, stirring the soil, and watering in very dry 
weather. A very late crop may be obtained by cutting over a summer crop, 
a few inches above the ground, as soon as the plants have come into flower. 
New stems will spring from the shoots in abundance, and continue bearing 
till frost. 

The Kidney Bean includes the common dwarf (our bush bean), growmg 
twelve or eighteen inches high, and the runner growing ten or twelve 
feet. For the dwarf sorts, the first sowing may be made in the beginning 



I 



THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 187 

of April, the second about the middle of the month, and after that till along 
towards August. The rows may be two feet asunder, and the beans depos- 
ited in drills from two to three inches apart, and covered to the depth of 
one to one and a half inches. The routine culture consists in watering in 
dry weather, where that operation is practicable, and using- lime-water, if, 
which is often the case, the plants are attacked by snails or slugs. 

The twining sorts, being rather more tender than the dwarfs, are not 
sown until later in the season. If the soil is in good condition, and the 
culture thorough, one sowing in May will produce plants which will con- 
tinue bearing, from the middle of June, till the plants are destroyed by the 
frosts ; but the green pods should be gathered before the seeds formed in 
them begin to swell. The rows should be in the direction of north and 
south, should be at least four feet apart, and the beans should be placed in 
shallow drills, three inches asunder, and covered about two inches with soil. 
Where the plants come above ground, they may be slightly earthed up, and, 
in another week, when they begin to form runners, they should be slicked 
with branches or rods, of six or eight feet in length. In many cases, the 
scarlet runner may be planted where it will not only produce excellent 
crops, but afford shelter or shade to a walk, a grassplat or a cucumber-bed. 
Where sticks or rods are scarce, wires, or even twine, may be substituted, 
and in this way the scarlet runner may be trained against wooden walls, 
pales, or other fences, or made to cover walls. The following (Fig. 98) 

Fis. 98. 



is a good mode of arranging thread or cord for the support of scarlet run- 
ners. Take half-inch and two-inch wide laths or rods, join them at the top 
60 as to leave the ends a few inches beyond the junction, and stick the 



188 farmer's hand-book. 

lower ends into the ground, just within the lines of the plants. Connect 
these triangles by similar rods at the bottom, about three inches above 
the soil. Take a cord, fix it firmly to the lower bar, carry it over the upper 
bar, which is placed in the cross formed by the long ends left, as seen in the 
figure. Make a loop a yard long, carry the cord again over the plank (that 
is aroimd it) , and fix the other end to the lower rod on the other side. In 
like manner, go on through the whole length, making the loops all of the 
same length, and through these suspend a long slick or bar (the section of 
which is shown at the right hand), and to this bar hang bags of sand, as 
many as may be wanted. Train the plants up the strings, and when they 
are well grown, the whole will be covered ; and when in flower, the appear- 
ance will be very fine. By this method, the cords, being fixed at the lower 
bars, will not ])ull the plants out of the earth, the tension and contraction of 
the cords being counteracted by the bar suspended in the loops, which is 
raised or lowered by every change of atmospheric moisture. Very abundant 
crops, however, may be obtained without any resort to staking, by merely 
stopping the plants after they begin to form pods. 

For general cultivation, the Early Mohawk, Early Six-Weeks, Ea^ly 
Valentine, Yellow Six-Weeks, Late Valentine, and the Lima, are highly 
thought of, and very extensively grown in this country. 

Beet. — Among the more common and useful varieties of this vegetable 
are the French Sugar, or Amber, Mangel- Wvrlzcl, Green, Yellow Turnip- 
rooted, Early Blood Turnip-rooted, Early Dwarf Blood, Early White Scar- 
city, Long Blood Bed. 

Culture, dfc. — Sow beets from the early part of May until June, in 
drills about three inches apart, thinned to ten or twelve inches in the row. 
For early use, a small bed of the early turnip-rooted may be sown as soon 
in the spring as the ground can be fitted for the seed, and these will give 
good roots in June or July. For fall or winter use, or for general crops, 
beets should not be sown loo early, for such, if suffered to stand, become 
stringy and fibrous, and not unfrequently shoot up to seed. 

A rich, deep soil, is best for the beet, and for all top-rooted plants ; and 
they should, after thinning, be kept free from weeds. They should be 
gathered before severe frosts occur, and may be pitted or put in cellars for 
winter use. The thinning of beets must be done while they are young, and 
the young plants are excellent for greens. 

Within a few years the culture of the sugar-beet has received much atten- 
tion in this country, not only for the purpose of sugar-making, but on ac« 
count of its being one of the most valuable roots grown for the feeding of 
animals during the fall, winter, or spring months. 

The ground should be prepared by deep ploughing or harrowing, until it 



THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 189 

ia fine. Open two furrows with the ploug-h two feet apart, and put in a suf- 
ficient quantity of manure, according to the state of the ground ; cover the 
dung with the plough by throwing a furrow of earth upon it, ridging aa 
high as can be well done ; level the surface of the ridge over the dung, tak- 
ing care that there is a full proportion of earth over the manure for the seed 
to vegetate in. Sow with a drill or by the hand, and complete the process 
by rolling. 

To Keep Beets. — To preserve beets during the winter, put them in a dry 
cellar, with dry sand between them, taking care to expose them a day pre- 
vious to the air, to carry off" the moisture. In quantities, they may be pre- 
Ber\-ed out-of-doors as follows : Take them up three weeks before the hard 
frost comes, cut off their leaves, let them lie two or three days upon straw or 
boards ; then lay a little straw upon the ground, and, in a fine, dry day, place 
ten bushels of beets — those that are good — upon it, in a conical form. Put 
a little straw smoothly over the heap ; then cover the whole with six or 
eight inches of earth, and place a green turf on the top, to prevent the earth 
from being washed by rain from the point, before the frost sets in. The 
whole heap will freeze during the winter, but the frost will not injure the 
beets. 

Borecole. — The main varieties are Green Scotch Kale, German Curled, 
Purple, Jerusalem, and Thousand-headed Cabbage. The last two grow to 
four feet, and yield large numbers of sprouts. 

Culture, (ffc. — Sow the seed in May ; plants are set out in July. They 
are better when touched slightly by the frost, and may be kept in the same 
manner as cabbages, during winter. The stocks, in spring, send out numer- 
ous tender shoots ; and one ounce of seed will produce nearly four thousand 
plants. 

Broccoli. — This vegetable is similar to the cauliflower in growth, 
appearance, and flavor, but it is cultivated more easily, and is more certain 
to head. 

Culture, (5fC. — The Early White and the White Cape are considered 
superior, but the Purple Cape is the kind most cultivated. The seeds of the 
last are sown towards the end of May, in the Middle States, and later foi 
winter supplies. In July, or when the plants are large enough, transplant 
into very rich, dunged, and mellow earth ; plant eighteen to twenty-foui 
inches apart each way, moisten the earth frequently with liquid manure, 
and hoe and keep clean during their growth. If attacked by the " Black 
Fly," a solution of brown or soft soap is good to destroy them. 

Cabbage. — This is one of the most ancient and useful of all the cultivated 
vegetal)lcs. 

Culture, cf-c. — The best soil ia a strong, rich, substantial one, more 



190 farmer's hand-book. 

clayey than sandy, though it will grow in any soil, if it be well worked and 
manured. They are grown either from hot-bed plants, or from seed in the 
open ground. If the seed of the earlier sorts has been sown in a hot-bed, 
they will be ready for removal when two or three inches high. In this 
case, as soon as the season will permit, prepare a bed, by digging out the 
ground a foot deep, four feet wide, and to as great a length as the extent of 
your operations will require. Fill this up with dung, cover with earth. to 
the depth of four inches, and set your plants upon it in rows four inches 
.\part, and two inches apart in the row. Water them lightly, and, if conve- 
nient, shade them for a day or two, and shelter them at night. 

In the open ground, put your seed rows at six inches distance, and put the 
seeds thin in the row; when up, thin them to three inches in the row, and 
when two or three inches high, in order to perfect them, they may be taken 
from the seed-bed, and put into fresh-dug, well-broken ground, at six inches 
apart, every way. This is called pricking out. 

Where their distances will allow, it is better to dig between the cabbages 
once or twice during their growth; and all the larger sorts should, about 
the time that their heads are beginning to form, be earthed up. 

Varieties. — The varieties of cabbage are numerous. The earliest is the 
Early Dwarf, then the Early Sea Green, then the Early York. The Sugar 
Loaf, a sweet and rich variety, comes in in July and August. For winter 
use, the Dwarf Green Savoy is much esteemed. For Drum Heads or other 
large kinds, sow and transplant same as the Savoy. The Red Cabbage is 
treated in the same manner as the Green Savoy. 

To keep Cabbages. — To preserve cabbages through the winter, lay out a 
piece of ground four feet wide, and as long as the quantity to be preserved 
may require ; dig on each side of it a small trench, a foot deep, and throw 
up the earth on the four-feet bed, the top of which should be made level and 
smooth. Lay some poles or rails at a foot apart lengthwise upon the bed, 
then put some smaller poles, or stout sticks, across, on the rails or poles, 
putting these last at five or six inches apart. Upon these lay corn-stalks, or 
twigs, or brush, not very thickly, but enough so to cover all over. Then, 
Just as the frost is about to set in, take up the cabbages, knock off the dirt 
from their roots, take off all dead or yellow leaves, and also some of the out- 
side ones, put the cabbage-head downwards upon the bed, with the roota 
sticking up, and cover them nearly up to the root with straw. Do not pack 
them so that they will touch each other much ; and secure the straw from 
the operation of the wind. Out of this stack the cabbages may be taken 
green and good in the spring, when the frost breaks up, and from this stack 
a supply may be obtained through the whole winter. 

Diseases. — The diseases of thf ^abbage consist of clubbing of the roots 



THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 191 

which arises from worms, and is produced by growing them too long in one 
locality ; lice, which are destroyed by infusion of tobacco, lime-dust, and 
Bait ; and cut-worms and slugs, which should be caught and destroyed before 
sunrise, — or soot, tobacco, lime, &c., should be worked in about the roots 
with a trowel. 

Cardoon. — This is a species of artichoke, comprising some half a dozen 
principal varieties. 

Culture, cfc. — The stalks of the leaves being thick, fleshy, and crisp, 
are blanched, and used for salads, soups, and for stewing. Sow about the 
last of April, in deep, light, moderately rich soil, in trenches about six 
inches deep, twelve wide, and four feet apart, from centre to centre. Drop 
three or four seeds together, at intervals of eighteen inches, and when they 
come up, thin them out to single plants. Water frequently in summer, and 
in a dry day, about the end of October, commence the operation of blanching 
by tying up the leaves with twisted hay-bands, after which earth may oif 
may not be heaped around them, in the manner of earthing celery, according 
as they are to be used early or during winter. 

Carrot. — There are several varieties of carrot, among which may be 
enumerated the Early Orange, Early Horn, and AUringham, for the table ; 
and the Long, Lemon-colored, Blood-red, and Large White, for larger crops. 
Other varieties are also higlily thought of. 

Culture, <SfC. — The general culture is the same as that of the beet, 
requiring a deep soil, well manured and worked. The main crops should 
not be sown earlier than the middle of May, — though some may be sown a 
month earlier, — as early carrots, like early beets, are apt to throw up seed 
stalks, which render the vegetable worthless. For extensive culture, the 
earth may be thrown into ridges two and a half feet apart, manure spread in 
the furrows, and the ridges split and thrown back upon the manure, and the 
seed sown on the top of the ridges, after partial leveling. A light rolling ia 
useful, to press the earth about the seed. The carrot will vegetate sooner, 
and come forward more rapidly, if the seed, previously to sowing, is mixed 
with sand or sandy loam, and kept moist until it begins to germinate, when it 
must be sown and at once covered. The plants should be about four or five 
inches apart in the rows, kept clear, and will be fit to gather late in the fall. 
They may be preserved by being buried in sand, or in a cellar, but must be 
kept secure against frost. 

Cauliflower. — This is an improved variety of the cabbage, the flowers 
constituting a compact and delicious mass. The varieties cultivated in this 
country are the Early White, Late White, and Purple. 

Culture, dfc. — For spring eating, sow about the middle of September. 
Prepare the ground by opening sflnall trenches, and dig in some earth in good 



192 FARMER S HAND-BOOK. 

compost, to receive the plants. When of a proper size, the plants should 
be pricked out in a careful manner, and for them the warmest part of the 
garden should be selected. Being very tender, they should always be put 
under glass in severe weather. They should not, however, be covered until 
the weather is severe, and in the mean while the hoe should be trequently 
used between them, in order to keep the eartli dry about their stems. Too 
much covering weakens them. From their beds they may be planted out 
in rows, like cabbages, only at rather greater distance, and taking care to 
move a little earth along with them, about the middle of spring. 

Celery. — Of this vegetable there are the White, the Red., the Hollow, 
and the Solid, the latter being considered the best. 

Culture, <Sfc. — Sow about the middle of April, in a rich, moist soil ; if 
not rich, make it so by mixing in fresh vegetable mould, or short, well-rotted 
manure. Dig deep, and rake it fine and smooth. The seed should' be sown 
liberally all over the surface, and beat tJie bed evenly and firmly with a 
clean spade ; then sift on a covering of a quarter of an inch of earth, and it 
will vegetate as soon as cabbage-seed. 

In the operations of after-culture, when either the plants left in the seed- 
bed, or those removed, are from six to twelve inches high, or when the 
latter have acquired a stocky growth, by four or five weeks' nurture in the 
intermediate bed, transplant them into trenches for blanching. For this 
purpose, allot an open compartment. Mark out the trenches a foot wide, 
and from three to three and a half distant, and dig out the trenches a foot 
wide, lengthwise, and six or eight inches deep. Lay the earth dug out 
equally on each side of the trench, put about three inches of rotten dung into 
the trench, then pare the sides, and dig the dung and parings with an inch 
or two of the loose mould at the bottom. 

Trim the tops and roots of the plants, and then set them in single rowa 
along the middle of each trench, allowing four or five inches distance from 
plant to plant. Give the plants water, from time to time, and let them be 
shaded till they strike root and begin to grow. When eight or ten inches 
high, draw the earth up to them, in dry weather, taking care not to bury 
the hearts ; repeat the earthing once in ten days, till the plants are fit for 
use. 

Chive. — This is used as an excellent substitute for young onions 
spring salading. A single row, a few yards long, will supply a family. 

Culture, dfc. — A light, moderately rich soil, is preferable. Plant 
May or June, in rows eight or nine inches apart, and four or five in a row 
Plant off'-sets from the bulbs, keep free from weeds, and in autumn they will j 
appear in large bunches, which may be dug and stored for winter. 

Corn. — This useful plant has been fully treated in the preceding chapter. 



I 



THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 193 

as one of the heavy or field crops. There are, however, two or three 
varieties used expressly for the table, which may be appropriately noticed 
in this place. These varieties are Adams'" Early, Sweet or Sugar, and 
Early While Flint. 

Culture, <Sfc. — Sow in hills about three and a half feet asunder, from 
about the last of April to the first of July. The land should be rich, and 
each hill manured, and only two or three stalks in a hill; the side-shoots 
or suckers should be removed, and the land should be well dug and hoed. 

Corn Salad. — This is also called Lambs'' Lettuce, and is raised for 
winter and spring salads, for which purpose it has long been known. 

Culture, dfc. — It will flourish in any soil not very heavy, and is propa- 
gated by seed sown in the spring, in drills six inches apart, or broadcast 
and raked in. Should always be eaten when young. 

Cress. — There is the Garden Cress, or Pepper Grass, the Indian Cress, 
and the Water Cress. The first is well known. 

Culture, Sj-c. — Garden Cress requires a moist soil, and, if possible, a cool 
situation. The Indian Cress must be sown in April, in a good strong soil, 
in rows three inches apart, with sticks upon which the plants may climb. 
The fruit is full-sized in August, when it is taken green and pickled in 
vinegar. The Water Cress is a creeping, amphibious plant, cultivated 
along streams, in rows, about eighteen inches apart. It is prolific, hardy, 
may be often cut, and is of an agreeable flavor. 

Cucumber. — The most noticeable sorts are the Early Short White 
Prickly, Long Early Frame, Manchester Prize, Kerrison's Long White 
Spine, and the Long Prickly. The growth of the first-named is four to six 
inches, sea-green color, forces well ; the second-named grows from six to 
ten inches, is a good bearer and fine variety ; the third grows sometimes to 
a prodigious length, dark-green color, and superior as respects quality and 
productiveness ; the fourth is similar to the third-named ; the fifth growa 
about ten inches, and is a great bearer. 

Culture, djrc — For open air raising, cucumbers should be planted in 
hills about four feet apart, early in May ; those intended for pickling may 
be planted later. Before planting, prepare the ground by mixing well- 
rotted manure with the earth of each hill. Two or three plants are enough 
to a hill. The seed should be sown about half an inch deep ; the plants 
must be kept free from weeds, and in very dry weather thpy should be 
watered. Some allow the plants to take their own course ; others shorten 
the stem by pinching off the buds ; while others bury the runners at short 
distances, and thus obtain new roots from the buried joints. 

To have cucumbers earlier than by the ordinary way, make a hole undei 
a warm fence, and put some hot dung in it. On this put six inches of 

17 N 



194 FARMER S HAND-BOOK. 

fine, rich earth, and sow some seeds in it. Cover at night with a carpet, 
mat, or other article. When the plants come up, and before they show the 
rough leaf, plant two in a flower-pot, or small tub, or pail ; or let the seeds 
be originally planted in such as these, or, what perhaps is better, in some 
large turnips, scooped out and filled with earth for the purpose. The first 
pots may be put into a bed prepared for them, and covered as before, where 
they are to stand until cucumbers sown in the natural ground come up, 
when they may be turned out with the ball of earth and planted. Or, if 
planted in turnips, put the whole into the ground, and then treat the plants 
as if originally sown in the open ground. In this way the fruit may be had 
much earlier than usual. 

Forcing. — To force cucumbers, begin ten weeks before the fruit is 
needed. The Short Prickly, Long Green, and White Spines, are preferred 
for this purpose. The seeds should be two or three years old, and should 
be sown in pots placed over a warm bed. Apply tepid water, and take care 
that no cold air enters the frame. When the second leaves are expanded, 
transplant into larger pots; place three together. When one month old, 
carry to the fruiting-bed. The latter is made on a dry spot, with fresh 
dung, well turned and forked, and four feet high. As soon as the bed is 
settled, and in regular fermentation, add six inches of fine mould, and if it 
remains mellow, it will answer ; but if fire-fanged, or caked, more will be 
necessary. The mould should be hilled to within eight inches of the glass 
frame, and set three plants from the pots in it, transplanting with the ball 
of earth; these are enough for one frame. Use warm water to them, and 
darken until they are well rooted. The temperature should be from seventy 
to eighty degrees, — the steam being allowed to escape as it rises. As the 
heat lessens, add fresh dung outside, cutting away the old. Form a bank, 
two feet wide and one foot high, against the back of the frame. Give the 
plants air and water in the morning. As the roots enlarge, add fresh, 
good mould. 

Enemies. — The striped bug eats the young foliage; the flea-beetle, a 
small, black insect, destroys the small plants, as also does the squash-bug, 
a large insect, with brown upper wings and orange belly ; the black worm 
cuts down the young plants, and can only be caught in the morning, as it 
retires into the earth during the heat of the day. Several species of aphis 
annoy the plants. The large insects must be caught in nets or with the 
hand ; soot, tobacco-water, solution of whale-oil soap, infusion of worm- 
wood, Mayweed, pennyroyal, and slacked lime, are all used with advantage. 
Some allow hens to run among the vines. 

Dandelion. — This is a hardy plant, growing spontaneously in this and 
other countries, and much used as a wholesome table-green. 



THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 195 

Culture, d^c. — It may be propagated either by seeds or roots, in a 
moderately well-prepared soil. The flowers may be cut off as fast as they 
appear, to prevent the dispersion of the seed and weakening the plant. 

Egg Plant. — Thern are two varieties of this plant, the white-fruited 
and the puri)le, the latter kind being preferable. 

Culture, cj-c. — It may be raised by sowing the seed on a slight hot-bed, 
the beginning of April, or in March; and towards the latter part of May 
they should be planted in a rich, warm piece of ground, at the distance of two 
and a half feet asunder, every way, for the purple, or two feet for the white 
kind ; and if kept clean, and a little earth be drawn up to their stems, when 
about a foot high, they will produce plenty of fruit. Or, the seed may be 
Bown about the end of April, on a warm border, and planted out finally the 
beginning of June. 

Endive. — This is a salad plant, of which there are two sorts, the Curled 
and the Plain, the last being the best for use. It is the same as Chicory. 

Culture, 6j-c. — The soil most favorable to the endive is a light, fresh, 
moist loam. It is sown in drills a foot apart ; when the plants come up, 
they must be thinned to a foot apart in the row. Hoe the ground fre- 
quently, and keep it clean between the plants. Before using as a salad, it 
must be bleached, by carefully gathering the leaves with the hands into a 
conical form, and tying them with matting or soft string. This must be 
done in dry weather, when the plants are of good size, and they will be fit 
for use after they have remained i#the tied state about a fortnight, and 
will keep till spring. The time of sowing for the spring is as soon as the 
weather will permit ; for the winter, about the last of July or first of 
August. 

Gaklic. — This vegetable has been in use for a long time. It has a very 
pungent odor. The varieties cultivated are the large and the small. 

Culture, (Sj-c. — It is grown by planting the small bulbs, or root, in drills 
two inches deep, six inches apart, and four inches from plant to plant, early 
in the spring, on light, rich ground. It should be well hoed. The bulbs 
attain their full size about the first of August, when the leaves wilt. 

Hop. — Perhaps our account of this plant should have been included in 
the preceding chapter. Under all the circumstances, however, we con- 
cluded to give it its present place, believing such an arrangement the best 
one, on the whole. 

The hop is a perennial-rooted plant, with an annual twining stem. Tho 
female blossom is the part used, and the female plant .is the only one cul- 
tivated. The male (a) plant and the female (6) are both represented in 
Fig. 99. 
• Culture, 6fc. — The soils most fevorable are clays, and strong, deep loams, 



196 



farmer's hand-book. 



with a dry and friable subsoil. In preparing it, the weeds should be. wholly 
destroyed, and the ground well pulverized. The ridges should also be made 




level, and dung liberally applied. The most effectual preparation is trench- 
ing, either by the plough or by manual labor. The mode of planting is 
generally in rows, making the hills six feet distant from each other, this 
distance giving a free circulation of air, and admitting the sun's rays unob- 
structed. The planting season is in February or March ; but if bedded 
plants, or such as have been nursed for one summer in a garden, are used, 
then, by planting in autumn, some produce may be had in the succeeding 
year. When root sets are used, as on the occasion of grubbing up an old 
plantation, October is the right time. The plants or cuttings are procured 
from the old stools, and each should have two joints or eyes ; from the one 
which is placed in the ground springs the root, and from the other the stock 
or bind. They should be made from the most healthy and strong binds, 
each being cut to the length of five or six inches. Those to be nursed are 
planted in rows a foot apart, and six inches asunder, in a garden, and the 
others at once where they are to remain. 

After-culture. — The after-culture of liops, besides the usual processes of 
hoeing, weeding, stirring, and manuring, includes earthing up, staking, 
and winter dressing. Hoeing may be performed with a horse implement ; 
stirring, though usually done with a three-pronged fork, may be done with 
a plough ; manuring is either with well-rotted stable dung, or compost, 
either in springer fall. Some spread the manure between the rows, others 
lay it on the hills. It would seem, however, tbat the best time was the 
gpring, and then it should be turned under by the plough. Eat thing up i.s 
performed the first May after plaiifng, whether that operation be performed 



THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 197 

In spring or autumn. In dressing the hop plants, the operations of the first 
year are confined to twisting and removing- the haulm, to which some add 
earthing up in autumn. The yearly operation of staking or setting the 
poles commences towards the end of April, or at whatever period, earlier 
or later, the shoots may have risen two or three inches. Two or three 
stakes are usually put to a hill. Tying the shoots or vines to the poles is the 
last operation in the after or summer culture. 

Taking the Crop. — Taking the crop is a most important operation. The 
time for picking varies ; light soils and dry situations are earliest ; even in a 
yard of a few acres, situated on a side-hill, the highest ground is often ready 
for picking some days before the lower ; and sometimes, from the poverty 
of the land, the middle, or, it may be, the lower part, is ripe first. In 
commencing picking, too much care cannot be taken in gathering those first 
that are ripe, and not picking those that are largest, as is often the case. 
The time of picking may be known by their change of color, from a deep- 
green to a light-yellow tinge. If they have seeds, the hop ought to be 
gathered as soon as the seed turns brown ; but the certain indication of 
picking-time, to those who are familiar with the plant, is when the lupulin, 
or small globules of the bright yellow resin, are completely formed in the 
head of the hop, at the bottom of the leaves, and the leaves are readily 
rubbed from the stem. The lupulin, or flowers of the hop, as it is commonly 
called, is the only valuable part, and if gathered too early, before it becomes 
perfect turpentine, it soon dissipates and loses its fine aromatic flavor, and 
all its medicinal qualities. Hence, gathering hops too soon is a total loss, 
and instead of imparting a palatable, pleasant flavor, and giving its fine 
tonic balsam to ale, they are unquestionably an injury, and ought not to be 
used ; and if gathered too late, the lupulin drops out, and the hop is of no 
value ; but the experienced cultivator takes the medium, — commences when 
the hop is first ripe, has everything prepared — his hands, kilns, baskets, 
bagging, &c. Five or six days ought to finish the process of picking and 
curing, if his yards ripen about the same time. The hop should be picked 
clean, without leaves or stems, and, if possible, without dew on them ; nor 
pressed too close, nor put in too large quantities, before going on the kiln, 
or they will heat. 

Drying. — With regard to drying, no rule can be given for the thickness 
they ought to be spread on the kiln, or even for the length of time necessary 
to dry them. A skilful operator is the only safety in this process. Care 
ought 10 be taken that the kiln draws well, as much depends on its draft; 
the steam should not be allowed to fall back on the hops, and must pass off 
freely. Preparatory to putting the hops on the kiln, it must have a firt put 
in, made perfectly dry, and fumigated by burning brimstone, to take away 
17* 



198 farmer's hand-book. 

all the bad smell ; and when perfectly sweet, a layer of hops put on, say 
eig'ht or ten inches deep, and this may be increased or lessened as the oper- 
ator finds the draft. The time used in drying will also depend on the 
quantity of hops on the kiln, and on the draft, — say from eight to sixteen 
hours ; but they must not be removed from the kiln until the core or stem 
is crisp and well dried ; they must then be put upon a floor, and occasionally 
turned, until the leaf becomes tough, when they are ready for bagging. 
The fuel used for drying must be of the sweetest kind, and perfectly charred ; 
and the best is beech, birch, hickory, or maple. Pine may not be used 
under any circumstances, nor any brimstone, only as before directed. When 
the fire is once put into a kiln of hops, it must never be permitted to slacken 
or go out, until they are dried. The fire should never be so hot as to burn, 
or leave the least taint of fire on them. 

Assorting. — Hops should be carefully divided into three equal parts or 
parcels, — the first, second, and last pickings. If six days are consumed in 
picking, let the hops of the first two days, the third and fourth days, and 
the last two days, be kept separate, bagged and marked ; each parcel will, 
by this method, be more valuable to the brewers, and enhance the price 
of those that should thus be brought to market, if skilfully picked and 
cured. 

The scorching or burning the hops on the kiln is a serious injury, and 
should be carefully guarded against during the process of drying. 

Horse-radish. — This plant is cultivated for its roots principally. 

CuJhire, <^c- — It thrives on any soil tolerably good, but prefers a deep, 
mouldy, rich and moist soil. If man"ure be necessary, vegetable substances 
are the best for that purpose. It is propagated from seed and sets, the 
latter obtained by cutting the main root and ofisets into lengths of two 
inches ; the tops or crowns of the roots form the best, those taken from the 
centre never becoming so soon fit for use, or of so fine a growth. Each set 
should have at least two eyes, for without one they refuse to vegetate. The 
ticst time for planting is in October, for dry soils, and in February, for moist 
ones. The sets must be inserted in rows eighteen inches apart each way. 
The ground should be trenched between two and three feet deep, the cut- 
tings being placed along the bottom of the trench, and the mould turned 
from the next one over them, or inserted to a similar depth. The shoots 
make their appearance in May or June. The only culture required is to 
noe and rake the ground, and destroy the weeds. In taking up the roots, 
it should be done regularly, instead of a root here and there, as is often 
piaciised. 

Leek. — This is a vegetable which, for certain purposes, is used as a 



THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 199 

substitute for the onion. The variety most esteemed is the London Tall, 
or Musselburg Flag. 

Culture, <^c. — The culture of the leek is similar to that of the onion, 
only it requires more water. Put the rows eight inches asunder, and thin 
the plants to three inches apart in the row. Hoe frequently between the 
plants until the middle of July, then take them up, and cut their roots off to 
an inch long. Make trenches for them like those of celery, only not more 
than half as deep, and half as wide apart. Manure the trenches with rotten 
dung, or other rich manure. Put in the plants as you do celery plants, and 
about five inches asunder. As they grow, earth them up by degrees, as you 
do celery ; and at last you will have leeks eighteen inches long, under 
ground, and as thick as your wrist. Three leeks planted out for seed will 
ripen in August, and be enough for the next year. 

Lettuce. — This is a hardy annual plant, comprising many varieties, 
of which the following are among the best : Brown Dutch, Large Indian, 
White Silesia, Green Hammersmith, Early Cabbage or White Butler, Royal 
Cape, Grand Admiral, Magnum Bonum Cos, Brighton Cos, Ice Cos, White 
Cos, and Green Cos. The cabbage lettuces are round-leaved, growing in a 
compact, full head, of squat form, close to the ground. All the Cos lettuces, 
in their general growth, are more or less upright, of an oblong shape. 
Both kinds have white, close, firm heads, when in perfection ; the varieties 
reach maturity from June till September. 

Culture, <!fc. — All sorts grow freely on any rich, mellow soil, where the 
subsoil is dry. Raise it on beds set apart for it, keeping the varieties sep- 
arate ; but, to multiply the supplies throughout summer, portions may be 
sown, thinly intermixed with principal crops of leeks, onions, carrots, and 
spinach, which will come off before the lettuces are fully grown. Sow 
from February to July, for the main summer or autumn crops. For an 
early crop, sow in the beginning of February, on a gentle hot-bed ; and 
when the plants are one or two inches high, in March or April, prick a 
portion either into a warm border, or else let them be shielded with mats, 
during nights and bad weather, transplanting to a slender hot-bed, to bring 
them more forward. According to their progress in April or May, u-ans- 
plant them into the open garden, from six to twelve inches asunder, to 
remain for heading. 

Morel. — This is a species of mushroom much esteemed in Europe. 

Culture, <SfC. — It is seldom that morel undergoes a regular process of 
garden culture, though this may be done by collecting the spawn in June, 
and planting in dung-beds or ridges. It grows on wet banks, in the woods, 
and in moist pastures, and should be gathered when dry. Used to flavor 
gravies, &c. 



200 



FARMER S HAND-BOOK. 
Fig. 100. 




Mushroom. — This plant grows spontaneously and very luxuriantly, and 
numbers several varieties, some of which, however, are very poisonous. 

Fiff. 101. 




Culture. — It is now largely cultivated in this country. It needs great 
care to raise it artificially, and to do so successfully requires a special 
training. It is raised in hot beds and otherwise. None but those famil- 
iar with the different species should collect the article at all, on account 
of the great resemblance between the good and the poisonous kinds. 
The crown or hat is at first hemispherical, then convex, and at last 
flat, fleshy ; about two to five inches broad ; white, or very light brown, 
slightly scaly, the scales soft and fibrous ; gills pink, changing to brown- 
ish black ; the flesh, when divided, changes generally to a reddish hue. 

Mustard. — There are two species of this plant in cultivation, the Black 
(a) and the White {b). They are annuals. 

Culture, <5fc. — In cultivating white mustard, for spring and summer 
consumption, .sow once a week or fortnight, in dry, warm situations, in 
February and March, and, afterwards, in any other compartment. In sum- 



THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 



201 



mer, sow in shady borders, if it be hot, sunny weather. Generally, sow in 
Bliallow, flat drills, from three to six inches apart ; scatter the seed tliick 



Fiff. 102. 




and regular, and cover in thinly with the earth, about a quarter of an inch. 
To furnish gatherings in winter or early in spring, sow in frames or under 
hand-glasses, and when the weather is frosty, or very cold, in hot-beds. 
This species is cultivated chiefly as a small salad, and is used like cresses, 
while in the seed ; when these are newly expanded, they are mild and 
tender, but when advanced into the rough leaves, they eat rank and disa- 
greeable. In many parts, the seed of the white species is preferred for 
mustard, giving a whiter and milder flour than the black. It is also used 
medicinally, cleansing the stomach and bowels, and bracing the system at 
the same time. 

The black mustard is chiefly cultivated in fields for the mill. It must be 
sown in April, in drills, from six to twelve inches asunder, or broadcast, 
and rake or harrow in the seed. When the plants are two or three inches 
in the growth, hoe and thin them moderately where too thick, and clear 
them from weeds. They will soon run up in stalks, and in August return 
a crop of seed ripe for gathering. 

Onion. — The best varieties are the Nnv England White, Large Red, 
Yellow or Silver-skinned, Yellow Dutch, Slraxhurgh or Flanders, and Madeira, 
tlie Yellow or Silver-skinned and Large Red being the best for a general 
crop, and the New England White for the table and pickling. 

Culture, dfc. — For a general crop, the ground should be well prepared 
by digging in some of the oldest and strongest manure that can be got. 
Plant in April or May, sowing the seed moderately thick, in drills one inch 



202 farmer's hand-book. 

deep and twelve inches apart. When the plants are up strong, they should 
be hoed, and three times during the early part of their growth. Those beds 
that are to stand for ripening should be thinned out, while young, to two or 
three inches apart. When the greenness is gone out of the tops of onions, it 
is time to take them up, for from this time the fibrous roots decay. After 
being pulled, they should be dried, and then removed to a place of shelter. 

The small onions may be planted in the following spring. Even an onion 
which is partly rotten will produce good bulbs, if the seed-stems be taken off 
as soon as they appear. Most of the varieties are propagated by seed. The 
potato onion, however, does not produce seeds, but increases by the root. 
One onion, slightly covered, will produce six or seven in a clump, partly 
under ground. The bulbs are generally planted in the spring, twelve to 
eighteen inches apart, though they are apt to yield better when planted in 
autumn, as they will survive the cold, if covered with dung, litter, &c. 

Okra. — This plant is not much in general use in this country. There 
are two varieties, the large and the small podded or capsuled. 

Culture, djC. — It may be sown, with certainty of success, at the time of 
planting Indian corn. Draw drills about an inch deep, and four feet asunder, 
into which drop the seeds at the distance of eight inches from one another, 
or rather drop two or three in each place, lest one should not grow, and 
cover them an inch deep. As they advance in growth, earth them up like 
peas, and they will bear well. 

Parsnip. — The choice sorts of this vegetable are the Guernsey or Com- 
mon, and the Sugar or Hollow- Crowned, the latter being the best garden 
variety. 

Culture, djc. — Like the carrot and beet, the parsnip requires a light, rich, 
dry soil, and the sooner the ground is prepared in the spring, and the seed 
put in, the better the roots will be, as a long season is necessary to their 
perfection. Sow the seed in drills, the same as carrots, and left, in thinning, 
eight inches apart in the rows. They must be kept clean by frequent hoe- 
ings, and in the autumn are fit for use; but as they improve in quality by 
being exposed to the frost, and will remain in the earth without injury, those 
intended for spring use are left in their beds, and are usually found in a fine 
state in the spring months. The seed of this plant vegetates with some 
difficulty, and in a light, dry soil, should have the earth pressed upon them 
with a roller immediately after sowing. 

Pea. — The varieties of this useful and nutritious plant most commonly 
cultivated for market and garden use are the following : Extra Early, Early 
May, Early Frame, Early Charlton, Bishop's Early Dwarf, Blue Marrow, 
Woodford Marrow, Sugar Pea, Knighfs Dwarf Marrow, New Mammoth^ 
Early Washington, Early Double Blossom, and Early Warwick. 



THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 203 

Culture, <Sfc. — Sow as early in the year as the ground can be worked, 
in double row3, four feet apart, covering about three inches. Manure 

• Fig. 103. 




moderately, and dig it in well. As the early crops appear, draw the soil 
over them ; and as they advance from half an inch to three inches high, and 
when the weather is dry, draw the earth to the stems, and continue to hoe 
and earth up, as it will assist the peas to bear plentifully. When they are 
six or eight inches high, place a row of sticks or brush, about five feet long, 
in the middle of the double rows, and a few smaller ones on the outside of 
each row. Sow again from the middle to the end of April, for use in July 
and August. 

The crop is readily collected by a short scythe and horse-rake, or by hand. 
It should be done while the haulm is of a yellowish green, or the peas 
scatter. The haulm in this state is a very valuable rough fodder, if care- 
fully housed. The grain is threshed out, and forms excellent provender for 
stock and poultry. 

Enemies. — The pea is subject to but few diseases. The pea-bug punc- 
tures the pod when very young, and deposits an Qgg. Very few crops 
entirely escape them, except such as are sowed about the middle of June. 
It is therefore best to sow a part about that time, for seed, or to keep a 
sufficient quantity over one year. 

Pepper. — The varieties grown for pickling and kitchen use are the 
Sweet or Bell, the Cayenne, and the Tomato or Flat, 

Culture, <5fc. — Sow a small portion of seed, thinly, half an inch deep, on 
a hot-bed or in a pot, in April, and transplant in June, on good soil, twelve 
inches apart, and eighteen inches from row to row. As they grow, hoe 



204 farmer's hand-book. 

frequently, earthing- up the stems. When sown in the open ground, the 
time is the same ; let the soil be light and warm, and transplant when three 
to four inches high. 

Pumpkin. — The best varieties of pumpkin are the CashSw, Family, Con 
necticut Field, White Bell and Valparaiso. 

Culture, <^c. — The best time for sowing is about the middle of May. 
It will grow in any dry and well-worked soil. It has been usual with 
farmers to grow" their pumpkins in the corn-field ; but whether this is a good 
practice or not, is somewhat doubtful. A good crop of pumpkins must 
necessarily take from the sustenance which would otherwise go to nourish 
the corn. When planted with Indian corn, they may be put between the 
hill of corn of every fourth row and every fourth hill, upon a shovel full of 
rich manure, two seeds in a hill. When the plant is grown by itself, let 
the hills be eight or nine feet apart ; two or three plants in a hill are 
sufficient, though it will be more advisable to put in more seed, to provide 
against accidents, and the surplus plants can be withdrawn. To preserve 
the crop pure, the seed should not be taken from plants growing neai 
squashes. 

Radish. — There are two species, the long and the round; and of these 
there are several varieties, which are named below. 

Culture, <SjC. — For the early crops, use the Long Scarlet Short Top ; the 
Long Salmon, similar to the preceding, but of lighter color ; the Scarlet 
Turnip Rooted, and White Turnip Rooted. Frequent sowings are necessary, 
as the foregoing soon become pithy and shoot to seed ; in flavor they differ 
but little. At the same time the early kinds are sown, make a sowing of 
the Yellow Turnip and Summer White, which are fine kinds, withstand the 
heat, and are firm and crisp even in hot weather ; frequent sowings of these, 
as well as the White Spanish, or Black Spanish, as most liked, should be 
made during the summer months. The two latter kinds, sown in autumn, 
keep well in winter, if secured from frost. 

Forcing. — In forcing radishes, a moderate hot-bed is necessary, the 
earth about eight inches deep, on the surface of which the seed is to be sown 
as soon as the violent heat has abated, and an additional half-inch sifted ovet 
it. Keep the temperature at about sixty-five degrees, admit the air except in 
the evening, and, when the earth is dry, give a light watering. The seed- 
lings are generally up in a week, and in six weeks may be drawn. 

Rhubarb. — The principal varieties are Buck's New Scarlet, of a deep 
red ; Tobolsk, very early ; Goliah and Admiral, large size ; Elfort, Wilmot's 
Earhj Red, Myatt''s Victoria, and Australian. 

Culture, <5fc. — The seeds should be sown in April, in a border, and 
scattered thinly in drills, two inches deep, and a foot asunder, slightly 



THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 



205 



covered with soil When the plants appear, they should be thinned out to 
about six inches from each other, and afterwards to a foot. A light, dry 
Boil, is excellent. 

Fig. 104. 




As soon as the leaves are decayed, the seedling plants should be taken up 
with care, and planted out in rows, two feet apart, and the same distance 
between the plants. A shady spot is preferable, as the stems will be finer 
and better when not too much exposed to the sun. Give an annual top- 
dressing of well-rotted manure. 

A simple method of forwarding rhubarb is by turning over the plants, as 
they stand in the open ground, empty barrels or boxes, which may be sur- 
rounded by coarse litter or stable manure. 

Rape {edible-rooted,) is a white, carrot-shaped root, about the size of a 
man's finger, having a more delicate flavor than the turnip, like which it 
is cooked. It is not peeled, but scraped — the skin being remarkably thin. 

Culture, &c. — It is propagated by seed, which may be sown in April 
and June. It will grow in any soil that is poor and light, more especially 
if it be sandy. It grows to a larger size in rich, manured earth, but de- 
teriorates in sweetness and flavor. The same mode of cultivation and 
treatment applied to the turnip will answer for this root ; but in dry 
weather the beds must be regularly watered until the plants have deve- 
loped their leaves. 

Salsify. — This plant is also called Vegetable Oyster; its flavor, when 
properly cooked, being very similar to that of the oyster. 

Culture, &c. — Deep and humid soils are the most favorable. After dig- 
ging and smoothing, the plot intended for it should be formed into four- 
18 



206 farmer's hand-book. 

feet beds, and the seeds be sown and covered in rows, eight or ten inches 
apart. This should be done as soon as tiie frosts are over in the spring, i'oi 
the earlier the sowing, the finer will be the crop. Two hoeings, and 
frequent wateiing when the weather is very dry and hot, are necessary. 
The plants attain their full size in autumn. 

ScoRZONERA. — A plant mostly grown in Europe, for its roots, to use in 
Boups, &c. 

Culture, cj-c. — It is raised very much as is salsify. If the seeds be 
Bown in April, in a good deep soil, the roots will attain perfection in 
autumn, and continue good through winter. They last three or four years, 
but it is better to raise a few from seed every year. 

Sea-Kale. — It grows wild in Great Britain, but is extensively raised in 
gardens. 

Qihure, 4-c. — It will succeed well in any dry and deep soil. A bed 
may be composed for it of one half drift sand, one third rich loam, and 
one third small gravel, road-stuff, or coal-ashes. If the soil be wet, drain 
it; and if poor, manure it well. Propagate by seed ; and if the weather in 
June and July be very hot, water plentifully. It flowers about June, and 
the seed ripens in August. The signal for cutting is when the plants are 
three inches above the surface. 

Shallot. — A plant often used as a substitute for the onion, having a 
stronger taste, but not leaving so strong an odor as that plant. 

Culture, <5fc. — Each offset of the root will increase, if planted in a 
similar manner to its parent. The planting may be performed in October 
or November, or in the spring — Marcli or April. The first is the best 
season, if the soil lies dry, as the bulbs become finer; but otherwise, the 
spring is preferable, for excessive moisture destroys the sets. Plant six 
inches asunder each way, in beds four feet wide, in drills. 

Skirret. — The root is composed of fleshy tubers, joined together at the 
crown or head, and used in cookery. 

Culture, 4-c. — It grows freely in a light, moderately good soil. It is 
propagated both from seed and offsets of established roots. The former 
mode is preferred. Sow about the middle or last of April, in small drills, 
eight inches apart. "When the plants are one or two inches high, thin 
them to five or six inches asunder. They will continue to grow until the 
end of autumn, and may be used all along. Those left to reach maturity 
will be good for winter use, also for spring, till the stems run. When 
grown by offsets, take only the young outward slips. 

Spinach. — There are two varieties, the Round-leaved or Smooth-setded^ 
and the Prickhj-seeded. The New Zealand is also a species highly 
regarded . 



THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 207 

Culture, dfC. — The Smooth-seeded is better for spring and summer use, 
and the latter for autumn sowing. Sow broadcast or in drills ; when drilled, 
it is easier kept clean, and more readily gathered for use. The drills should 
be twelve inches apart, the plants four inches apart in the rows. If sown 
thicker, thin out, when young, as wanted, leaving plants at proper distances. 
For spring and early summer use, sow early in spring, and occasionally 
afterward ; for the early autumn supply, sow at close of summer, and for 
the main winter crops, about middle of autumn. Before very cold weather 
give a light covering of straw, cedar-brush, or anything that will lay lightly 
and partially protect it; otherwise, the frost will injure. 

Squash. — The kinds most suitable for cultivation are the Earli/ Bush, 
Vegetable Marrow, Lirna, Cocoa-nut or Acorn, and Green Striped. 

Culture, 4'c. — Dig deeply patches of earth, at the distance of four or 
five feet each way, mixing in well-decomposed manure, in liberal quantities. 
In each patch nr mound of earth plant about half a dozen seeds, and when 
the plants are well grown, remove all but two or three of the best. Sow 
about the middle of April ; or, for early crop, start them in pots or hot-beds. 

Tomato. — The kinds most usually grown are the Large Smooth Red, 
Large Red, and Cherry-shaped. The yellow tomato is not much raised. 

Culture, dj-c. — The best soil is one that is light, rich, with a dry sub- 
soil. Sow the seed in April, scattering it thin, and not burying more than 
half an inch below the surface. The plants soon appear, and when of two 
or three weeks' growth, they must be thinned to three inches apart, and 
those removed, if wanted, pricked at the same distances, in a similar bed 
to that from which they may be removed. On the approach of frost, pull 
up some of the plants, root and all, which are well laden with fruit, and 
hang them up in a dry, airy apartment. In this manner it may be continued 
in perfection after the natural season. 

It is recommended to cover the earth around each clump with straw or 
litter, which prevents rapid evaporation in hot weather, and protects from 
heavy rains. Some brush-wood stuck around the plants, to support them, is 
also useful. 

Turnip. — The principal sorts are the Early Yellow Dutch, Early Red 
top Dutch, White Norfolk Globe, Yellow Aberdeen, and iMrly White Dutch 
together with tie valuable Ruta-baga, or Swedish Turnip. 

Culture, dfc. — The soil should be thoroughly ploughed, harrowed, and 
rolled ; the weeds should be well raked up, and everything done to bring it 
into a state of good tilth. As drilling or sowing the seed in rows is most 
generally practised, the soil should be thrown into ridges by a plough, the 
ridges having a sharp top, and being at the distance of from twenty to thirty 
inches from top to top. After the ridges are formed, the manure is hauled 



208 



farmer's hand-book. 



on the ground, thrown out at convenient intervals, and immediately placed in 
the furrows. A section with the manure deposited in the furrows is shown 
in Fig. 105 a. As fast as the manure is distributed in the furrows, it should be 
covered, which is effected by splitting the ridges with either a double or a 
single mould-board plough, forming a new ridge on which the seed is to be 
sown, directly over the manure. A section of the new ridges is represented 
(b). The rolling and seed-sowing (c) succeeds this operation ; then the young 
plants, with the earth hoed away from them (rf), are seen; after this, the 
plants further advanced, covering the soil with their leaves, and enjoying the 
dung with their roots, (e) ; and, finally, the plants full-grown. 



Fig. 105. 

A A 



A 



/ 



/SjAn 



^, 



"^ ^ ^ 




The Swedish turnip, or ruta-baga, has a decided advantage over all othei 
varieties of turnip as cattle food, being the most nutritive, and retaining its 
soundness and richness much the longest. When given to cattle, it should 
be cut, by means of the vegetable cutter. A grass lea is best for this 
variety. If an old sod, plough it in autumn or early in spring, and manure 
and completely pulverize before planting. If a young clover lea, the 
manure may be spread, ploughed under, the ground harrowed, and the seed 
immediately put in. Sow at the rate of one to two pounds tne acre. Id 
the after-culture, the objects aimed at are to keep the crop clean, to thin the 
plants to eight or ten inches, and to keep the surface of the soil mellow. 
The turnip should be the last crop gathered, because it grows the longest, 
is least liable to suffer from frost, and is liable to be injured by fermenting, 
when collected in heaps for winter. If buried in pits, the roots should be 
raised above the surface of the ground, and laid up to terminate in a ridge. 



THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 



209 



80 .hat when tliey are covered with straw and earth, the heated or impure 
air of the pit will concentrate at the ridge on the top, where it should be 
siiifered to pass off freely through holes made for the purpose. 



Fiar. 106. 




Enemies. — The turnip-flea is a great scourge. To avoid it, it is recom- 
mended, first, that the germination of the seed be hastened by all natural 
means, as applying some portion of stimulating manure, sowing when a 
proper degree of moisture exists, and in close connection with the manure, 
to secure at once the benefit of it to the roots, if possible, making most of 
the season, when favorable. Second. That a liberal quantity of seed be 
sown, in drills, which will hasten the vegetation after it has come up. 
Third. That the land be well cleared, the weeds wholly eradicated, and the 
soil well supplied with manure suited to its character. Fourth. Select 
good seed, and test it before sowing, to see how many germinate, and how 
soon. 

Uses.— zThe root is an excellent food for every species of farm-stock, and 
is very extensively used for fattening beef, mutton, and pork. When milch 
cows are fed with ruta-baga, it should have a little salt sprinkled upon it. 
18* O 



210 



farmer's hand-book. 



II. HERBS, &C. 

Anise. — This is a half-hardy annual, used for garnishing or seasoning 
and much esteemed for that purpose. 

Culture, <5fc. — Sow during April, in pots buried in a hot-bed ; remove to 
a warm, light border, in May ; thin the plants to six inches apart. The seed 
is ripe in August and September. 

Balm. — The balm is a hardy plant, with square stems, rising two feet 
high or more, with large leaves growing by pairs at each joint. 

Culture, <5fc. — It is propagated by parting the roots, preserving two or 
three buds to each piece, or by slips, either in autumn or spring. Plant in 
any bed of common earth, from eight inches to a foot apart, watering, if the 
weather be dry. Gather when the plant is coming into flower ; and when 
the leaves are entirely free from moisture, dry them, and, when cool, press 
into packages. 

Basil. — The Sweet-scented and the Dwarf Bush are the two varieties. 

Culture, dfc. — A rich, light soil is the best. Sow the seed, in a gentle 
hot-bed, early in April ; to be thinned, and those removed pricked out 
at the close of this latter month in a similar situation, to be finally removed 
in the course of May or June, when the weather is settled, in open ground. 
When thinned, the seedlings must be kept at three inches apart, and those 
removed pricked out at a similar distance. Water at every removal, and, 
during the growth, hoe, and keep clear from weeds. Gather seed from the 
earliest raised plants. 

Caraway. — A biennial plant, with a taper root, stems rising from a foot 

Fig. 107. 




and a half to two feet, spreading branches, and finely-cut deep-green leavea. 



THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 



211 



Culture, dfc. — A clayey loam is the best soil, which should be well 
ploug-hed ; sow in March, directly after the plough, harrowing well. In 
ten weeks after, hoe, and repeat hoeing two or three times before cutting, 
which may be done in July ; after which, thresh it upon a cloth. 

Coriander. — A small-rooted annual, with branchy stenis. 



108. 




Culture, ^c. — Sow on a light, rich soil, in the fall, with fresh seeds 
twenty pounds to an acre. Thin the plants to six or eight inches apart 
every way, and in the spring stir the soil with a hoe. The seed ripens in 
August, when it must be carefully cut and gathered. A few strokes of the 
flail will get the seeds out clean. 

Camomile. — This is a well-known creeping plant, cultivated for its 
flowers. 

Culture, dfc. — The double-flowered variety is the most commonly grown, 
but the single possesses more of the virtue of the plant, according to its 
weight. It only requires a poor soil, planted in rows a foot apart, and 
hoed between. It will produce abundance of flowers annually, from June to 
September. 

Chervil. — The Parsley-leaved and Fern-lcavcd are raised by the Eu- 
ropeans, but in this country the plant is not much attended to. 

Culture, dfc. — Sow the seed in early autumn, as soon as it is ripe ; sow 
in drills eight- inches apart, or broadcast; thin the plants to eight inches 
asunder, and keep free from weeds. 

Dill. — It is cultivated for its leaves and blossoms, which are used for 
pickling, and in soups and sauces. 



212 



farmer's hand-book. 



CuUwe, dj-c. — Soil rather dry ; sow as soon as the seed ripens, in drilla 
a foot apart ; thin to about ten inches asunder, after three or four weeks' 
growth ; keep clear of weeds ; and, for seed, cut in September. 

Fennel. — Resembles the dill, but is larger ; grown for its stalks and 
leaves. 

Culture, dfc. — Three or four plants are sufficient for any garden. The 
variety called the Finochio may be grown in rows, on light, rich soil, and 
earthed up to the height of five or six inches, which blanches the stalks in 
ten days or a fortnight. Water in very dry weather. 

Foxglove. — A medicinal plant, comprising two varieties, the Large and 
the Small. 

Culture, t^c. — When raised in gardens, it is easily propagated by seed. 
It prefers a gravelly, sandy, or chalky soil. Every part of it is poisonous. 

HoREHOUND. — This herb has a white, hoary appearance, and a very 
bitter, though not unpleasantly aromatic, flavor. 

Culture, <5fc. — Any common soil is adapted to this plant, and it is readily 
increased by divisions of the roots, or by seeds. 

Hyssop. — There are three varieties, the White, Red, and Blue — dis- 
tinguished by the color of the flowers. The last is the most common. 

Culture, dfc. — A dry soil is the most appropriate one. It is propagated 
by seed and slips of the branches and young shoots, as well as by offsets 
May be sown from early spring until June ; rooted offsets may be planted in 
March, April, August, and September ; cuttings of the branches in April 
and May, and slips of young shoots in June or July. Sow broadcast, or in 
drills, six inches apart, and not deeper than an inch. 
. Lavender. — A dwarf, odorous shrub, of three or four years' duration. 

Fig. 109. 




Culture, <J-c. — The soil should be a poor, dry, limy gravel ; the seeds being 



THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 213 

sown in a garden in spring, may be transplanted in September ur March 
following, in rows two feet apart. The second season they will yield 
flowers, and a full crop the fourth, after which the plants will continue pro- 
ductive for years. The spikes are gathered in June, and dried in the shade 
Liquorice. — The liquorice is a deep-rooting plant, with stems four or 
fivo feet high. 

Fig. 110. 




Culture, <^c. — The soil should be a deep, sandy loam, trenched two oi 
three feet deep, and manured ; the plants consist of the side roots, having 
eyes or buds. Plant in the fall or spring, in rows three feet apart, and from 
eighteen inches to two feet in the row ; hoe, stir, and weed, and carry off 
the stems every autumn, after they are completely withered. 

Marjoram. — The Sweet Marjoram is a biennial plant, and long in use 
as a seasoning for soups, and for other culinary purposes. 

Culture, <^c. — This species, being somewhat tender, is commonly sown 
on a slight hot-bed towards the end of March, or on a warm border about 
the middle of April ; in the former case, transplanting it into rows one foot 
apart, and the plants six inches distant in the row ; and in the latter case, 
thinning them out, without transplanting. 

Mint. — The Common or Spear Mint is a creeping stemmed plant, the 
young leaves of which are much used in salads, soups, &c. 

Culture, dj-c. — Propagate by dividing the roots before they begin to grow 
in the spring, and bury in shallow drills, or slip off the young shoots when 
they are three or four inches long, and plant in beds a few inches apart. 
To produce tender stalks and leaves, water liberally. To dry, cut the 
(talks when just coming into flower. 



214 farmer's hand-book. 

Parsley. — A well-known biennial, with a large, sweet tap-root. 
There are two varieties, the Plain-leaved and the Curled-leaved, the 
latter the best 

Fig. 111. 




Culture, d^c. — Sow at monthly intervals, from February until middle of 
June, in drills nine inches apart ; when of tolerable growth, thin to nine 
Inches asunder, and keep clear of weeds. For seed, cut in July or August ; 
dry, and beat out. 

Penny-Royal. — There are two kinds, the Trailing and the Upright. 

Culhire, <^c. — It is grown by dividing the roots in the spring. The 
best soil is one that is strong and moist. It is of very easy cultivation. 

Peppermint. — A well-known creeping-stemmed plant, growing spon- 
taneously. 

Culture, <5fc. — It may be propagated by dividing the roots early in the 
spring, and planting in a soft, rich soil. The stalks are gathered when in 
full flower. 

Purslane. — There are two sorts, the Green and the Golden, ihe latter 
being used mostly as a garnish, and the former for a salad ; also for pot- 
herbs and pickles. 

Culture, <SfC. — Where a constant supply is required, the first sowing 
should be made on heat in February, and the others monthly, on a warm 
border, till August. The shoots are gathered when from two to five inclies 
high, and well furnished with leaves. 

Rosemary. — The Green, Golden-striped, and Silver-striped, are the vari- 
eties cultivated, the first-named being the most used. 

Culture, <Sfc. — The best soil is a poor, light, limy one. Propagate oy 



THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 



215 



enttings and rooted slips, during any of the spring months, or by layers in 
the summer. Sow in March or April, in drills one inch deep, and six 
inches apart. The slips and cuttings must be five or seven inches long, and 
planted in rows eight or ten inches apart. Water liberally at the time of 
planting, and occasionally afterwards. 

Rue. — An evergreen shrub, making a beautiful garnish for table dishes. 

Culture, dfc. — It thrives best in a poor, clayey soil, and is propagated by 
Blips, cuttings, and seeds, in the spring, the seed being sown in drills one 
•'nch deep, and one foot apart. The slips or cuttings may be planted on a 
poor, shady border, and watered occasionally. 

Saffron. — This is also called the Autumn Crocus, and is a bulbous- 
Fig. 112. 




rooted perennial, which has been long cultivated for its medical and culinary 
uses. 

Culture, 4"C. — Plant the bulbs on a prepared soil, not poor nor a very 
stiff clay. Plant in July, in rows six inches apart across the ridges, and 
three inches distant in the rows. The flowers are gathered in September, 
the stigmas picked out, together with a portion of the style ; these are dried 
between layers of paper, under the pressure of a thick board, to form into 
cakes. 

Sage. — The varieties are the Common Green, Wormivood, Variegated 
Green, Variegated Red, Painted or Parti-colored, Spanish or Lavender- 
leaved, and Red. 

Culture, <^c. — It is propagated by seeds or cuttings, and the plantation 
ought to be renewed every two or three years ; otherwise, the winter may 
destroy it. 



216 farmer's hand-book. 

Savory. — There is the Winter or Perennial Savory, and the Summer 
or Annual Savory, the latter being preferred, on account of its more agree- 
able fragrance. 

Culture, d^c. — The Winter savory is propagated by seed, cuttings, or 
divisions, — most frequently by the latter mode. The Summer is sown in 
drills, one foot apart, in the open garden, in March or April. 

Tansy. — The Curled or Double Tansy is the kind chiefly grown for 
culinary use. 

Culture, dfc. — The kind of soil is not very material. It is raised by 
rooted slips, or divisions of its roots, planted in spring and in autumn, in 
rows a foot apart each way. A little manure will increase the productive- 
ness, but is not wholly necessary. 

Thyme. — The Common and Lemon Thyme are the two varieties. 

Culture, <Sfc. — The Common is readily increased by seeds, cuttings, or 
divisions, and the plants should be renewed, by one or other of these modes, 
every year, in the spring. The Lemon is a trailing evergreen, used for the 
same purposes as the preceding. 

KITCHEN GARDEN CALENDAR. 

January. — Artichoke: secure from frost, if not yet done. Asparagus: 
plant on a hot-bed twice in the month, to keep up a succession. Carrot. 
sow on a slight hot-bed. Cauliflower : sow in a box, and place in a forc- 
ing-house, if the autumn sowing failed. Celery: protect during severe 
weather. Cucumbers : prepare a seed-bed for sowing next month, renew 
the linings of the fruiting-beds, and keep them made up above the surface 
of the soil in the frame. French Beans : sow in pots, for forcing. Mint 
and other Herbs : take up and plant in pots or boxes, and place in a forcing- 
house. Potatoes: plant on a slight hot-bed. Radishes: sow on a slight 
hot-bed, or in the same frame with potatoes. Rhubarb : take up old roots, 
and plant in boxes or pots, and place them in a forcing or mushroom house. 

February. — Beans : plant in boxes for turning out next month ; also 
sow in the open ground, if the season be open. Cabbage: sow on a warm 
border. Carrots : sow on a warm border. Cauliflowers : prick out thost 
sown in boxes last month on a slight hot-bed, — sow on a sheltered border. 
Celery : sow in boxes, and place in a forcing-house, for a first crop. Cu- 
cumbers : plant from the seed-bed, and afterwards keep the heat by night 
70° to 75°, and by day, 75° to 85°. French Beans : earth up former sow- 
ings, and sow again. Lettuce: sow on a warm border. Mushrooms: make 
beds and spawn at 80°. Onions : sow in boxes, and place in a forcing 
house, for planting out in April. Peas : sow in boxes, and in the open 



THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 217 

gn'ound. Potatoes > plant on a slight hot-bed and on a warm border Rad- 
ishes: sow on a warm border. Sea- Kale : cover up. Spinach: sow. Tur- 
nips : sow. 

March. — Artichokes : make new plantations. Asparagus : make new 
beds, — top-dress the latter end of the month. Basil: sow. Beans: plant 
twice in the month. Beets: sow. Cabbages: fill up vacancies in the 
autumn plantations. Capsicums, ox Peppers : sow seed. Carrots: sow the 
main crop. Herbs : make new beds. Horse-Radish : make new planta- 
tions. Jerusalem Artichokes: plant early in the month. Leek: sow. 
Lettuce : prick out on a slight hot-bed those sown last month in boxes. 
Mushrooms: make beds for summer use. Onions: sow the main crop. 
Parsley: sow. Parsnips: sow the main ciop. Peas: sow twice, — earth 
up early crops. Potatoes: plant main crop. Radishes : sow twice. Salsify: 
sow. Savoys: sow beginning and end. Scorzonera : sow. S/iallots and 
Garlic: plant the beginning of the month. Spinach: sow. Turnips: sow 
9n a sheltered border. 

April. — Beans: plant twice, and earth up the early crop. Borecole: 
iow. Broccoli : sow the winter varieties. Brussels Sprouts : sow begin- 
ning of the month. Cabbages: prick out the February sowing. Cardoons : 
BOW for early crop. CauUfloiuers : plant out those wintered in frames. 
Celery : prick out the early sown on a slight hot-bed. Cucumbers : sow to 
plant out on ridges. French Beans: sow the beginning of the month. 
Lettuce : fill up the autumn plantations. Onions : transplant the autumn 
sowing, and also those sown in boxes in February. Peas : sow twice in the 
month, earth up, and stick early crops. Radishes : sow twice in the month. 
Spinach: sow first and third week. Turnips: thin, and sow the latter end. 
Vegetable Marrow: sow the middle of the month. 

May. — Basil: plant on a rich sheltered border. Beans: top the early 
crops, — plant twice in the month. Beets: thin to fifteen inches apart. 
Borecole: prick out of the seed-bed. Broccoli: prick out those sown last 
month, and make another sowing of the winter kinds ; also Cape and Gran- 
ges, the last week. Cabbages: plant out the February sowing. Cauliflowers. 
earth up, and water with liquid manure,-^ take off the hand-glasses. Cu- 
cuinbcrs : prepare ridges for out-door crops. French Beans : make sowings 
the first and last weeks. Leeks : transplant. Lettuce : transplant early 
sowings, — sow twice in the month. Onions: thin them to nine inches 
apart. Peas : make two sowings. Potatoes : earth up the early crops. 
Radishes: make two sowings. Spinach: sow the middle of the month, — 
thin former sowings. Scarlet Runner: sow beginning and middle of the 
month. Turnips : make a sowing, if not done the end of last month. 

June. — Asparagus: discontinue cutting. Beans: put in the 'ast crop, 
19 



218 FARMER S HAND-BOrK. 

— top and earth up former crops. Broccoli: sow 6ape and Granges 
Cabbage : sow seed lor Coleworts. Capsicums : plant out on a warm 
border. Carrots: thin to two inches apart. Celery: transplant into 
trenches for an early crop. Cucumbers : plant under hand-glasses 
Endive : sow for an early crop. French Beans: make a sowing ihe middle 
of the month. Leeks: transplant. Lettuce: transplant. Peas: complete 
the sowing of the marrow varieties. Potatoes: earth up. Radishes: sow 
as in last month. Savoys : transplant for an early crop. Scarlet Runners : 
make the last sowing. Spinach : sow twice. Tomatoes : turn out against 
walls. Vegetable Marrow : plant under hand-glasses. 

July. — Borecole: transplant. Broccoli: transplant. Brussels Sprouts: 
transplant. Cauliflower : transplant from the April sowing. Cabbage: sow 
in the last week for a crop to come in in May. Celery : transplant into 
trenches. Endive: make a second sowing. French Beans: earth up, and 
make the last sowing the latter end of the month. Lettuce: make a sowing 
the first and last week. Peas : make two last sowings of early sorts. Rad- 
ishes : sow on a cool border. 

August. — American Cress: sow to stand the winter. Borecole and 
Broccoli: transplant the main crop. Cabbage: sow for main spring crop, 

— transplant for Coleworts. Carrots : sow to stand the winter. Cauli- 
flowers : transplant to come in during autumn, — sow for the main spring 
crop. Celery : transplant into trenches, and earth up for blanching. En- 
dive : make the last sowing, and transplant from former sowings. Lettuce: 
sow for standing through the winter, — transplant from former sowings. 
Onions : sow for standing through the winter. Radishes : sow the winter 
varieties. Savoys: transplant the main crop. Scarlet Runners: earth up 
and stick. Spinach : sow the main winter crop. Turnips : sow the winter 
crop. 

September. — Cabbages: prick out from last month's sowing. Celery: 
earth up for blanching. Chervil: sow for winter use. Curled Cress: sow 
for winter use. Endive : transplant, and tie up for blanching. Mushrooms : 
make beds for winter use. Onions : pull up and house them when dry. 
Parsley : cut down a portion of the spring sowing. Potatoes : take up the 
early sorts. Purslane: sow for winter use. Shallots and Garlic: these 
should now be taken up. Dig up vacant ground. 

October. — Artichokes: tie up the leaves for producing the chard. As- 
paragus: cut down and winter dress Beets: dig up and lay in sand. Cab- 
bages : plant out for the main crop. Cardoons : tie up the leaves for blanch- 
ing. Carrots: take up the main crop. Cauliflower: prick out under 
hand-glasses, and into frames. Cucumbers : make beds, and sow seed for 
°.vly crops. Lettuce: plant out for the main spring crop. Parsnips: take 



THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 219 

op and preserve in sand. Potatoes : take up the main crops. Tomatoes : 
gather the unripe fruit, and lay in a forcing-house. Dig and trench ground 
during dry weather. 

November. — Artichokes: cover the roots with litter. Bearis : sow first 
crop. Cauliflowers : protect those which have formed heads from the frost. 
Cekrrj : take every favorable opportunity to earth it up. Cucumbers : ridge 
out the plants in the fruiting-beds. Endive : preserve from frost. Horse- 
radish: dig up for winter use. Jerusalem Artichokes : take up for winter 
use. Peas: sow for an early crop. Salsify: dig up for winter use. Scor- 
zonera : dig up for winter use. Sea-Kale : clear away the decayed stems 
and leaves. Preserve culinary vegetables from frost. 

December. — Asparagus: take up roots for forcing. Celery: protect 
during severe frosts. Cucumbers : attend to the linings of the beds. French 
Beaks: plant in pots for forcing. Mushrooms: keep a moist and steady 
temperature in the house. Radishes: sow on a hot-bed for early use. Rhu- 
barb: take up roots, and pot for forcing. Sea-Kale: take up roots carefully 
for forcing. Small Salad: keep a succession, by sowing once a week, 
Prepare materials for hot^beds. 



CHAPTER V. 

THE DAIRY. 

DAIBT IMPLEMENTS MANAGEMENT — MILK — BUTTER-MAKING CHEESE-MAK- 
ING; INCLUDING ALL THE MOST CELEBRATED AND ESTEEMED MODES. 

IMPLEMENTS. 

General Remarhs. — The construction of dairy-houses is, naturally, the 
first subject to be presented, in a chapter like this. The reason why it is 
here omitted is, in order that it may be included in the chapter on Rural 
Architecture, thus enabling us to give consistency and completeness to 
the plan of this volume. We begin, therefore, with remarks on some of the 
implements or utensils employed in dairy operations. These comprise 
milk-pails, shallow pans or cooling dishes for holding, sieves for straining 
the milk when taken from the cow, dishes for skimming the cream, churns 
for the making of butter, besides scales, prints, and boards, for weighing, 
measuring, and ornamenting it ; also ladders, vat?., tubs, curd-breakers, and 
presses, for the manufacture of cheese, together with vessels large enoujjh 
to hold the whey or butter-milk. Almost all of these, except the churn and 
press, are so generally similar, and so familiar to all, as to require but little 
description. The material of which most of these are formed is wood, 
though many dishes are made of earthen-ware, lead, tin, freestone and 
slate, and not unfrequently of brass. 

It being generally conceded that the dairy husbandry of England is the 
most perfect in the world, we shall incorporate as much information relative 
to its management in that country, in the present chapter, as will be com- 
patible with the limits assigned to this department. 

Presses. — The cheese-presses act upon the curd by pressure, and are there 
usually made of stone, of different weights, proportioned to the size of the 
cheese. They are most generally raised by a block and tackle, but are fre- 
quently made upon the principles of the lever, and there are various con- 
structions, placed in frames of wood, also of iron. A very common machine, 
of an extremely simple form, used in many dairies which produce such 
small cheeses as not to require great pressure, is that of a movable beam, 
fixed by a pivot in an upright post, and having hooked on at the other end a 



A 



THE DAIRY. 



221 



weight which presses in this manner on the cheese-vats underneath (Fipf. 
113). There is also the Patent Self-Acting Press, which is much used. It 

Fig. 113. 




is light, but strong, and is substantially a table on which to turn the cheese; 
no forcing screws, nor lifting heavy weights, but the cheese creates a con* 



Fig. 1 14. 




Btanl and regular pressure, of twelve times its own weight, whether large 
or small ; and, if a greater pressure is needed, one pound laid upon the 
19* 



222 



farmer's hand-book. 



cheese or table adds twelve pounds increased pressure, and so on. The 
cl)eese is net removed from the press until the pressing is completed. 

Churns. — The churns are closed vessels, into which the cream, or the 
whole milk, being put, a piston, or a wheel in the form of a fan, is quickly 
and regularly moved, either up and down, or by turning, according to its 
form, so as to separate the oily particles of which the butter is composed. 
They are generally made of the best oak, and of various sizes. Much im- 
provement has been made, within a few years, in the construction of churns, 
figures of three of which we annex. 

Fiff. 115. 




The Thermometer churn (Fig. 115) is constructed so that the cream or milk 
is readily brought to the desired temperature w-ithout mixing water or other 
substances, and the temperature certainly and definitely determined, which 
proves invaluable in making butter. There is a double bottom, made in the 
form of a semi-circle, of two sheets of zinc, or other metal, placed one above 
the other, the cream to rest upon the uppermost ; between the two sheets 
forming the bottom is a space or chamber, into which may be introduced 
cold or warm water, as may be required, to increase or diminish the temper- 
ature of the cream or milk. The water is easily applied by means of 3 
common tin tunnel, through an aperture or hole in the side of the churn 
Another improvement is a thermometer permanently placed in one end of 
the churn, secure from injury, marked at sixty-two degrees, and which is 
always visible, so that the operator may know when the cream or milk is 
brought to the proper temperature. If too warm, the mercury will rise 



THE DAIRY. 



22S 



above the mark, and cold water should be applied in the chamber describ3d ; 
if oo cold, the mercury will fall below the mark, when warm water must 
be used in the same manner. The cream or milk should be stirred or agi- 
tated, by turning the crank, while the water is being introduced, to give an 

Fig. 116. 




equal temperature throughout. When the thermometer indicates that the 
cream or milk is of the proper temperature, the water may be drawn out 
through the tube placed for the purpose, when the churning should be 
performed by giving the crank about forty revolutions to tbe minute. 

KendaWs Cylindrical Churn (Fig. 116) is simple in its construction, and 

Fig. 117. 




combines all the advantages of other cylindrical churns, with this improve- 
ment, that the revolving dasher can be taken out in a moment, whenever 



224 farmer's hand-book. 

it is required to be cleansed. There are five size^^i, from two to iwenty 
gallons. 

The GauU Churn is an article much in use, and in some respects a supe- 
rior machine. Fig. 117 represents the top lifted up to receive the cream or 
discharge the butter. TiUinghast's is also an almost incomparable churn. 

Cleanliness in Dairying. — The form of these utensils is, however, a mat- 
ter of secondary importance, compared with their being kept extremely 
clean, which is the chief requisite in all the operations of the dairy ; and, 
therefore, those which can be most readily cleaned are the best to be em- 
ployed, whatever may be their shape. Those who superintend dairy opera- 
tions should be clean and careful, and the floor of the dairy should be kept 
perfectly dry ; for w^ater thrown down in hot weather will rise again in 
rteam, and affect the milk with its humidity. 

MILK. 

Management of Milk. — When the milk has been drawn from the cow, it 
should be carried as gently as possible to the dairy, and after being there 
strained through the sieve, it must then be deposited in shallow pans or 
coolers, not exceeding three or four inches in depth, where it is left to col- 
lect the cream, which rises to the surface within a few hours, according to 
the temperature of the air. Those who are particularly nice, either in the 
consumption of the raw cream, or for the making of butter, skim it, perhaps, 
within twelve hours ; but it is more generally left full twenty-four, or even 
thirty-six hours, according to the state of the season, when intended for 
butter, and is then not unfrequently skimmed again. 

The chief component parts of milk are those which, when separated, are 
known as forming butter and cheese, the residue of which is called whey. 
These parts are known, however, to vary in percentage, according to the 
quality of the milk ; and, to determine this point, what is called a lactom- 
eter is in use. It consists of glass tubes placed upright in a wood frame ; 
these tubes are divided and subdivided, by marks, into equal spaces ; they are 
filled to equal height, each with the milk of a particular cow, when, after 
remaining a proper time, the quantity of cream in each is readily seen 
through the glass, and the exact difference determined by the marks ; this, 
however, does not show whether the caseous matter (of which cheese is 
formed) or the butyraceous matter (or oily substance producing cream) 
predominates. The following observations may be assumed as a summary 
of its management : First — Of the milk that is drawn from any cow at a 
time, that which cv^.nes off at the first is always thinner and of a poorer 
quality than that which comes afterwards, the richness continually increas- 



THE DAIRY. 225 

ing, to the last drop drawn at that time. Second — If milk be put in a di?h 
and allowed to stand till it throws up cream, that portion of cream which 
rises first to the surface is richer in quality and greater in quantity than 
what rises in a second equal portion of time ; the cream that rises in the 
second interval of time is greater in quantity and richer in quality than 
that which rises in a third equal space of time ; and that of the third than 
the fourth, and so on ; the cream that rises decreasing in quantity, and 
declining continually in quality, so long as any rises to the surface. 
Third — Thick milk always throws up a smaller proportion of the cream 
it actually contains to the surface than milk which is thinner ; but that 
cream is of a richer quality. If water be added to that thick milk, it will 
also afford a considerably greater quantity of cream than it would have 
done if allowed to remain pure ; but its quality is at the same time greatly 
debased. Fourth — Milk which is put into a bucket, or other proper vessel, 
and carried to any considerable distance, so as to be much agitated, and in 
part cold, before it is put into the milk-pans to settle for cream, never throwa 
up so much nor so rich cream as if the same milk had been put into the 
pans directly after it was milked. Fifth — If it be intended to make butter 
of a very superior quality, it will be, in such case, advisable to separate the 
milk that is first drawn from that which comes last, and the quality will be 
improved in proportion to the smallness of the last-drawn milk that is 
obtained. The first-skimmed cream should also be used, as it is always 
richer than that which rises last. 

BUTTER, 

General Remarls. — This is formed either by cream alone, or with the 
whole milk, unskimmed ; but although such different modes of manufacture 
might seem to warrant very different results, yet they have very little per- 
ceptible effect on the quantity or quality, though the profit on the produce 
of the dairy may be affected, in large towns, by the greater demand for 
skim-milk or butter-milk. There is also another kind, which is much infe- 
rior, and made from the cream of whey, after the cheese has been taken 
from the milk ; but the process of making is nearly the same. 

Cream Butter. — When butler is to be made from cream alone, the milk 
is, in winter, usually skimmed as often as four, and in summer two or three 
times, or until it will afford no more cream ; and this should be first sepa- 
rated from the edges of the pan, to which it firmly adheres, by means of an 
ivory or silver-bladed knife, run closely around it. The cream should then 
be carefully drawn to one side and lifted off with a skimming-dish, which 
Ls generally pierced with small holes ; an act which. requires some dexterity, 

P 



226 farmer's hand-book. 

both to avoid the leaving of any cream behind, and to prevent any portion 
of the milk being mixed with it. Some persons, indeed, have leaden cool- 
ers, vv^ith a plug in the bottom, which allows the milk to escape to a large 
vessel underneath, while it leaves the cream at top ; but the former practice 
is most usual. 

The length of time which the milk should stand before it is skimmed 
must depend both upon the temperature of the air at the time, and the views 
of the dairy operator. In moderately warm weather, if very fine butter be 
intended, it should not be suffered to remain more than six or eight hours ; 
for ordinary good butter, it may be safely allowed to stand full twelve hours, 
and during cold weather, much longer. The cream is then put into a deep 
vessel, in which it is frequently stirred, every day, with a wooden spoon, in 
order to prevent coagulation, until sufficient be collected to form a churning. 
No vessel can be better adapted for this purpose than one in the under part 
of which, close to the bottom, there is a faucet and peg for draining off, 
from time to time, any thin, serous part of the milk that may chance to be 
there generated ; for should this be allowed to remain, it acts upon the 
cream in a powerful manner, and greatly diminishes the richness and quality 
of the butter. The inside of the vessel should be covered with a bit of close, 
fine silver-gauze, to keep back the cream, while the whey is allowed to pass. 
Many persons imagine that no butter can be of good quality except that 
which is made from fresh cream ; the fact, however, being, that the forma- 
tion of butter takes place only after the cream has attained a certain degree 
of acidity, and no butter of even tolerable quality can be obtained from 
cream that is not more than one day old. The length of time which the 
cream should be kept before it acquires that degree of acidity which is 
requisite for the best butter, depends so much upon the weather, that no 
fixed rule can be laid down. In fact, so little nicety is observed, in this 
respect, by practical farmers, even those who have a high reputation for 
making good butter, that few of them ever think of observing any precise 
rule with regard to the different portions of their cream, seeing they in gen- 
eral make into butter all they have collected since the former churning ; 
the time which should intervene between one churning and another being 
usually determined by local or accidental circumstances. If the cream be 
very carefully kept, and no serous matter be allowed to lodge about it, a 
very great latitude may be safely admitted in this respect. It is, indeed, 
certain, that cream which has been kept three or four days in summer is in 
excellent condition for making into butter, and that from three days to seven 
may be found in general to be the best time for keeping cream before churn- 
ing. The cream from every milking should, however, be kept apart until it 
IS become sour, and not be mixed up with sweet cream, — at least, not until 



THE DAIRY. 227 

the moment of churning, — for the mixture occasions fermentation, which, 
though partly prevented by the stirring, is liable to render the cream pulrid. 
When, however, the herbage is coarse, or the cows are fed on roots, or 
artificial grasses, the sooner the cream is churned, the better will be the 
butter. Sometimes the milk is allowed to stand until the cream becomes 
clotted, or, as it is termed, " carved," to a proper degree of acidity, which 
generally takes place, in warm weather, within a day or two ; and, in winter, 
it is placed near the fire, in order to forward that process. 

Clotted Cream. — The mode of procuring the genuine clotted or " clouted 
cream," which is said to produce one fourth more cream than by the common 
way, is as follows : The milk, while warm from the cow, is strained into 
either large, shallow brass pans, well tinned, or earthen ones, holding from' 
two to five gallons, in which should be a small quantity of cold water, which 
prevents burning, and causes the cream to be more completely separated and 
thrown to the top. The morning meal of milk stands till about the middle 
of the day ; the evening meal , until the next morning. The pans are now 
steadily carried to and placed over a clear, slow fire, which, if of charcoal, 
or over a stove, the cream is not so apt to get an earthy or smoky taste as 
when the milk is scalded over a turf or wood fire. The milk must not boil, 
as that would injure the cream. The test of its being sufficiently scalded 
is a very nice point ; the earthen pan, having its bottom much smaller than 
the top, allows this point to be more easily ascertained, because, when the 
milk is sufficiently scalded, the pan throws up the form of its bottom on the 
surface of the cream. The brass pan, if almost as big at the bottom as at 
the top, gives no criterion to judge by, but the appearance and texture of 
the cream at the surface, the wrinkles upon which become smaller, and the 
texture somewhat leathery. In summer, it must be observed, the process 
of scalding ought to be quicker than in winter, as, in very hot weather, if 
the milk should be kept over too slow a fire, it would be apt to run or 
curdle. This process being finished, the pans are carefully returned to the 
dairy, and, should it be the summer season, they are placed in the coolest 
situation ; if on stone floors, the better ; but should it be the winter season, 
the heat should rather be retained, by putting a slight covering over the 
pans, as cooling too suddenly causes the cream to be thin, and consequently 
yields less butter, the mode of making which is this : The cream should, 
in hot wjather, be made into butter the next day ; but in winter it is thought 
better to let the cream remain one day longer on the milk. The cream, 
being collected from the pans, is put into wooden bowls, which should be 
first rinsed with scalding, then with cold, water. It is now briskly stirred 
round one way, with a nicely-cleaned hand, which must also have been 
washed in hot and then in cold water ; for these alternate warm and cold 



228 FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 

ablutions of bowl and hand are not only for the sake of cleanliness, but to 
prevent the butter from sticking to either. The cream, being thus agitated, 
quickly assumes the consistence of butter ; the milky part now readily sepa- 
rates, and being poured off, the butter is washed and pressed in several cold 
waters ; a little salt is added to season it, and then it is well beaten on a 
wooden trencher until the milky and watery parts are separated, when it is 
finally formed into prints for the market. 

In the common way of making butter from cream, the dairies churn the 
whole quantity at once ; but in many dairies, celebrated for the quality of 
their butter, only the first skimmings are used in making ihe best kind, the 
mode pursued being as follows : The milk, after standing twenty-four 
hours in large shallow coolers, lined with lead, is skimmed ; the skimmed 
milk is then drawn off from the leads into other vessels of increased depth, 
but unlined, in which it is left from twelve to twenty-four hours, during 
which time it is skimmed two or three times ; this is called " doubling ; " it 
is then " trebled," or put into tubs, or still deeper vessels, where it is occa- 
sionally skimmed, so long as any appearance of cream is found to form upon 
the surface ; after which, it is given to the pigs. The butter which is made 
from the after-skimmings is paler and inferior to that made from the cream 
cast up within the first rising ; it is therefore generally churned apart. 

Whole-Milk Butter. — If butter be made from the whole milk, the process, 
in the best dairies, in which the consumption of butter-milk is considerable, 
is to place the milk, when drawn from the cow, in coolers on the floor of a 
clean, cool, well-aired milk-house, from twelve to twenty-four hours, till it 
has cooled to the temperature of the milk-house, and the cream has risen to 
the surface ; these coolers are next emptied, while the milk is yet free from 
acidity, into a clean, well-scalded vat, of size to contain the whole milking, 
or two milkings, if both are sufficiently cooled, where it remains till churned. 
If another milking, or meal of milk, be ready before that which has begun 
to become sour, that second meal may be put into the same vat ; but if the 
first has soured, or is approaching to acidity, before the second quantity has 
completely cooled, any further admixture would lead to fermentation, and 
injure the milk. It is necessary that the whole milk become sour before it 
is churned, but the whole of it must become so of its own accord, and by no 
means forced into acidity by any mixture of sour milk with that which is 
sweet. The utmost care should, however, be taken, not to allow the coagu- 
lum, or curd, of the milk in the stand-vat, to be broken till the milk is about 
to be churned. If it be not agitated, or the " lapper " (as it is termed in 
dairy language) broken, till it is turned into the churn, it may stand from a 
day to a week without injury. 

Churning. — The operation of churning, whether it be cream or whole 



THE DAIRY. 22S 

milk, is done in the same manner ; but the latter, from being so much the 
larger quantity, is of course so much more laborious, that in large dairies 
churns moved by machinery are frequently used, and wliich, besides the 
advantage of performing the work with great regularity, also produce a 
larger quantity of butter. The whole milk, besides, requires more time 
than that of cream to complete the process — from two to three hours being 
considered necessary to effect it with due deliberation, while that of cream 
is generally finished within less than an hour and a half. The operation 
should, in warm weather, be very slow, for if it be done too hastily, the 
butter will be soft and white ; the churn should, therefore, be cooled by 
being previously filled with cold water ; but in winter it should, on the 
contrary, be performed quickly, and the churn should be warmed. The 
motion of the churn should be, in each case, regular, and whatever may be 
the degree of velocity, the stroke of the fan, or piston, ought always to be the 
same, until the butter is formed, or said " to come." The air which is 
generated in the churn should also be occasionally allowed to escape, or 
it will create froth, which impedes the process. 

The temperature of the milk-house should be kept, as nearly as possible, at 
about 55^, or at least between 50° to 60° ; and cream, when churned alone, 
should not be higher, for if kept at a high temperature in the process of 
churning, it will be found inferior in appearance, taste, and quality ; but 
milk and cream, when churned together, it is generally thought, must be 
equalled to about 70° to 75°, before the latter can be separated from the 
milk, wtiich is consequently the common practice. This is done by one 
person pouring gradually a small quantity of warm water into it, while 
another is churning ; for if the work be carried on while too cold, the milk 
is said to rise in the churn, air-bubbles are thrown up with a rattling noise, 
and the milk becomes pale ; whereas, if conducted at a proper heat, it does 
not swell, but is easily worked, and remains at the proper straw-color. A 
thermometer, it may therefore be imagined, should always be hung up in 
every dairy ; yet, strange to say, it is an instrument seldom seen in any of 
them ; the only scale which the dairy-maid knows is at her fingers' ends, and 
although she invariably trusts to her hand for trying the heat, it is yet sur- 
prising with what correctness she usually judges. Practice, it is said, 
makes perfect ; and it is astonishing with what accuracy many operations, 
which are supposed by theorists to demand the aid of science, are performed, 
through experience, by the merest child in science. Notwithstanding, how- 
ever, the accuracy which experience may produce, it is not to be compared 
with that denoted by scientific experiment, nor can it be acquired without 
great loss of time, which might otherwise be avoided. 

The whole milk, as well as the cream when churned separately, must 
20 • 



230 farmer's hand-book. 

become sour before it is churned ; but this must be effected merely by the 
state of the atmosphere, or by being- kept exposed to the fire, in order to 
bring on fermentation. It is therefore kept in a large vat, or tub, until the 
milk is turned into curd, or lapper, and if that remains undisturbed, the 
churning may be deferred for some days longer ; the warm water must not, 
therefore, be added until the curd is broken. In some dairies, the milk is 
put into a pan, or vat, and well stirred with a wooden spoon, or ladle, two or 
three times a day, to prevent the cream from separating from the milk; atid 
this sort of stirring, or partial churning, is continued till the milk becomes so 
thick and clotted that the ladle stands erect in it, after which, it is put into 
the churn for an hour or so ; cold water is also poured in, to help collect the 
Vuitei and separate the milk from it. 

vVasIiing Butler. — In most places, the butter, when taken from the 
churn, is washed in repeated waters, in order to extract the milk, until the 
water comes out pure. This, however, is a practice not generally com- 
mended, for it has been found, by long experience, that butter retains its 
sweetness much longer when no wp»<»r '.s used in making up. When it is 
taken out of the churn, it is well «vorked with the hand, which presses out 
most of the milk ; it is then beaten with a cloth, or rather a cloth is 
repeatedly pressed down upon it, which absorbs all the remaining milk. 
The less it is beaten or worked, however, the better; for the more it is. 
kneaded, the more tough and gluey will it become ; and a slight quantity of 
salt may be added to flavor it. 

Salting. — If the butter be salted for market, after the whole of the milk 
has been carefully pressed out, it should be well mixed, by working it in by 
the hand, with finely-powdered salt; for if care be not taken in mixing it 
equally, the butter acquires different colors — yellow where the salt has 
fallen, and white where it has not — which kind is, of course, inferior. The 
operation should be performed immediately, for, if deferred, as it commonly 
is by country dealers, and farmers who do not churn enough to fill a firkin at 
once, the butter loses a portion of its firmness and flavor. Should, however, 
there not be enough to fill up a package, the butter should never be put into 
the firkin in layers, but the surface should be left every day rough and 
broken, so as to unite better with that of the succeeding churning. The 
quality may also be in a great measure preserved by giving it a partial 
ealting, and covering it over with a clean linen cloth, dipped in pickle, and 
placed in a cool situation. 

The quality of salt should be strong marine, free from the brine of mineral 
salt. The quantity may be that of about ten ounces to fourteen pounds of 
butter, — rather more or less according to the length of time which the butter 
is intended to be preserved ; but it is generally thought that the butter made 



THE DAIRY. 231 

during the summer months is the fittest for salting, and that the sort which 
is made in the latter part of the season, not taking it so well, requires rather 
more. Some farmers use saltpetre, in the proportion of half an ounce of salt 
with one eighth of saltpetre to the pound of sixteen ounces; and, although 
this forms a valuable pickle, if the salt be really good, yet it unquestionably 
would be much improved if four ounces of raw sugar were to be added to 
each pound weight of salt. A compound of one part sugar, one part nitie, 
and two parts of the best Spanish salt, beat together into a fine powder, and 
mixed thoroughly with the butter, in the proportion of one ounce to the pound, 
has been found to keep the butter in every respect sweet and sound, during 
two years that it was in cask. It is also said to impart a rich marrowy 
flavor that no other butter ever acquires, and tastes but very little of the salt. 
When the butter is cured, it is then tramped firmly, with a round wooden 
Btick, into the firkin, which is filled up to the head, and then covered over 
with a little of the purest salt. 

CHEESE. 

General Femarks. — As butter is made from the oily part of the milk 
which rises to the surface in the form of cream, so cheese is composed from 
the curd, or coagulated milk, and may be obtained from the caseous part 
alone, after the milk has been skimmed. If thus deprived of the cream, this 
"skim-milk" cheese is, however, of a poor quality; and if intended to be 
good, the whole milk should be used, without any loss of cream ; for, if any 
portion of it be abstracted, the cheese will be proportionably less rich, — con- 
sequently, less palatable, and of inferior value. The mode of making, too, 
though in the main points apparently the same, yet is subject to more 
Tariety of minor details in the practice than that of anything formed of one 
material, and thus many difl^erent qualities are carried to market, each 
bearing some distinct character of its own. That many of those kinds which 
are by connoisseurs thought indifferent might, by other management, be 
more nearly assimilated to the superior sorts, there can be little doubt ; 
these peculiarities, however, have, in some cases, attached a certain degree 
of value to their flavor, while in others it would seem to be imparted by the 
natural grasses grown upon the soil. This applies more especially to some 
planes, it is well known that where brine-springs most abound the cheese 
is always esteemed to be of superior quality. 

Rennet. — Different Modes of Preparing and Treating. — Although 
cheese may be made from the curd which has been formed by the coagula- 
tion of the milk when it turns sour, yet, when thus obtained, it is hard and 
ill-flavored ; means have, therefore, been found to curdle it with " rennet," 
which is made from the gastric juice of animals, but more especially from 

9 



232 farmer's hand-book. 

that found in the maws or stomachs of sucking calves, that have been fed 
entirely upon milk. These maws, or "veils," as they are sometimea 
called, are occasionally preserved, along with the curd contained in them 
by salting ; but the more usual mode is to employ the skins of the stomach 
bags alone, the method being to put a few handfuls of salt into and around 
the stomachs, which are then rolled up and hung near the chimney to dry, 
after which, they are put by for a long time before they are used. If the 
skin be good, a bit of it no larger than a half-dime, if put into a tea-cup, 
filled with water, with a little salt, during about twelve hours before it is 
wanted, will form a stock sufficient for eighteen or twenty gallons of milk ; 
but their manner of pi-eservation and use is extremely various, and, as the 
quality of the cheese depends more upon the application of the rennet than 
upon any other part of the manufacture, we shall here state some of the 
most approved modes of its preparation . 

Most dairy-maids are of the opinion that if the curd, or chyle, were not 
removed from the maw of the calf, it would communicate a harsh taste to 
the cheese ; and some intelligent operators never use the veils until they are 
a year old, for, if newer, the rennet made from them causes the cheeses to 
heave, or swell, and to become full of eyes, or holes; and it is well known 
that, if too much be used, or if it be unusually strong, it will occasion the 
cheese to heave, probably by causing fermentation. It is, therefore, some- 
times prepared by adding to every six veils two gallons of brine, and two 
lemons, the latter doing away with any unpleasant smell, and giving it an 
agreeable flavor. A large quantity should be made at a time, and it should 
never be used until it has stood at least two months. 

Another mode is, to take the maw of a newly-killed calf, and clean it of 
its contents ; salt the bag, and put it into an earthen jar for three or four 
days, till it form a pickle ; then take it from the jar and hang it up to dry, 
after which it is to be replaced in the jar, the covering of which should be 
pierced with a few small holes to admit of air, and let it remain there 
for about twelve months. When wanted for use, a handful each of the 
leaves of sweet-briar, dog-rose, and bramble, with three or four handfuls of 
salt, ai-e to be boiled together in a gallon of water for a quarter of an hour, 
when the liquid is to be strained off and allowed to cool. The maw is then 
to be put into the liquid, together with a lemon stuck around with cloves; 
and the longer it remains in it, the stronger and better will be the rennet , 
kialf a pint, or less, of the liquor, is sufficient to turn fifty gallons of milk. 

Another mode practised is, when the rennet-bag is fit for the purpose, 
let two quarts of soft water be mixed with salt, wherein should be put 
almost every sort of spice and aromatic herb that can be procured ; and must 
boil gently until the liquor is reduced to three pints, when it should be 



THE DAIRY. 233 

Btrairied clear from the spices, and poured, in a tepid state, upon the maw, 
and a lemon may be sliced into it. It may remain a day or two, after which 
it should be strained again, and put into a bottle, where, if well corked, it 
will keep good for twelve months or more, and give the cheese a pleasing 
flavor. 

Still another practice is this : when the maw comes from the butcher, it 
is always found to contain a chyly or curd-like matter, which is frequently 
salted for present use ; but when this chyly matter is taken out, and the 
skin cleaned from slime, and every apparent impurity, by wiping or a gentle 
cashing, the skin is then filled nearly full of salt, and placing a layer of 
salt upon the bottom of a mug, the skin is placed flat upon it. The mug is 
large enough to hold three skins in a course, each of which should be 
covered with salt ; and when a sufficient number of skins are thus placed in 
the mug, it should be filled up with salt, and put, with a dish or plate over 
it, into a cool place, until the approach of cheese-making season in the fol- 
lowing year. The skins are then all taken out, laid for the brine to drain 
from them, and, being spread upon a table, they are powdered on each side 
with fine salt, and are rolled smooth with a paste-roller, which presses in 
the salt. After that, a thin splint of wood is stuck across each of them, to 
keep them extended while they are hung up to dry. In making the rennet, 
a part of the dried maw-skin is, in the evening previously to its heing 
used, put into half a pint of luke-warm water, to which is added a little salt. 
In the morning, this infusion — the skin heing first taken out — is put into 
the tub of milk ; but so great is the difference in the quality of these skins, 
that it is difficult to ascertain what quantity will be necessary for the 
intended purpose. A piece the size of half a crown, cut from the bottom 
of a good skin, will commonly be sufficient for a cheese of sixty pounds' 
weight, though ten square inches of skin are often found too little. It is 
customary, however, to cut two pieces from each skin, one from the lower, 
the other from the upper part ; but the bottom end is the stronger. 

An improved mode is, to take all the maw-skins provided for the whole 
season, pickled and dried as before, put them into an open vessel, and for 
each skin pour in three pints of spring water ; let them stand twenty-four 
hours, then take out the skins and put them into other vessels ; add for 
each one pint of spring water, and let them stand twenty-four hours, as 
before. On taking the skins out the second time, gently stroke them down 
with the hand into the infusion, and they are then done with. Mix these 
two infusions together, pass the liquor through a fine linen sieve, and ada 
to the whole a quantity of salt rather more than is sufficient to saturate tho 
water, that is, until a portion of salt remains undissolved at the bottom of 
the vessel. The next day, 3 d also the summer thrcugh, the scum, as it 
20* 



234 farmer's hand-book. 

rises, is to be cleaned off, and fresh salt should be added. Somewhat lees 
than half a pint of this preparation will generally be sufficient for sixty 
pounds of cheese ; but, when for use, the whole should be well stirred up. 

In some places, however, so far from washing away the chyle contained 
in the maw of the calf, pains are taken to increase it as much as possible, 
by giving to the animal as much milk as it can be made to swallow, a few 
hours before it is killed ; for, the chyle being formed by the mixture of the 
gastric juice with the food, and that gastric juice being the coagulating 
power, both are therefore carefully preserved, and are considered as thus 
formmg a stronger rennet than can be drawn from the bag alone. When 
the stomach or bag is taken from the calf's body, its contents are examined, 
and if any straw or other food be found among the curdled milk, such 
impurity is removed ; but no part of the chyle is suffered to be lost. At 
least two handfuls of salt are put into the bag, and upon its outside, after 
which it is rolled up in salt, and hung near a fire, where it is always 
allowed to hang until it is well dried ; and it is understood to be improved 
by hanging a year, or longer, before being infused. When rennet is 
wanted, the " yirning," as it is sometimes called, with its contents, is cut 
small, and put into a jar, with a handful or two of salt, and a quantity 
either of soft water that has been boiled, and cooled to about 65°, or 
of new whey taken off the curd, is put upon the bag in the jar. The 
quantity of water, or whey, to infuse the bag, is more or less, accord- 
ing to the quality of the yirning. If it is that of a new-dropped calf, 
that has not been fed, three pints will be enough ; but if he has been fed foi 
four or five weeks, a couple of quarts may, at least, be put on the bag to 
wash ; it should, however, be observed that the yirning of a calf four weeks 
old yields more rennet than that of one twice that age. After the infusion 
has remained in the jar from one to three days, the liquid is drawn off, and 
a pint more water, or whey, put on the bag in the jar ; and that, after 
standing in mash one or two days, is also drawn off, and, with that of the 
first infusion, strained, if any impurities appear in the liquor ; the whole 
being put up in bottles for use as rennet, and the bag being thrown away, 
without ever being put into the milk. Some put about a drachm of whiskey 
into each quart bottle of the rennet ; and it may be either used immediately, 
or kept for as many months as may be convenient. A table-spoonful of 
rennet thus made will, it is said, coagulate thirty gallons of milk ; but ita 
great superiority over our common practice is, that it will curdle the milk 
in five or ten minutes. As to the chyle occasioning a harsh taste to the 
cheese, the reverse is the fact. It must, however, be admitted, that, unless 
great care be employed in the immediate preparation of rennet thus made 



THE DAIRY. 235 

the curd is extremely apt to become rancid, and thus impart a certain degree 
of rankiiess to the cheese. 

W' hole-milk Cheese. — The mode of making sweet-milk cheese — thai is, 
cheese made of milk which has not been skimmed — is, to put the ladder 
across the cheese-tub, with a large canvas-cloth covering the whole, in order 
to prevent the falling of milk upon the floor, or any other matter into the tub, 
and above this is placed the sieve through which the milk is to be strained 
It should be of the temperature of 90° to 95^ ; and if below 85°, a portion of 
it should be placed in a deep brass pan, which is then immersed in the water, 
which is kept hot in the wash-house. By this means the whole is warmed 
equally, and it is of the utmost importance that attention be paid to it ; for, if 
the milk be not warm enough when the rennet is put to it, the curd will be 
tender, and the cheese will bulge out at the sides ; and, if too hot, it will 
cause it to swell or heave, and become spongy, both of which defects are 
irijurious to its appearance and quality. The rennet is then at once added to 
the miJk, which is thus coagulated at its natural heat ; but many farmers 
have not cows enough to form a cheese at every milking, and it mtist, there- 
fore, be then allowed to cool. In doing this, it of course throws up cream, 
which is not unfrequently taken off for butter, while the second meal, of 
whole milk, is used along with that which has been already skimmed ; but 
if the cheese be intended to be of fine quality, the cream must be also added. 
This, however, should be at the same time skimmed ; for the milk, when 
cooled, must be afterwards heated to full 90° in the summer, and to a higher 
temperature in cold weather ; and, were the cream to be warmed to that 
degree, it would be melted, which would cause a considerable portion of the 
fatty or butyraceous matter to be lost in the whey. It is, therefore, gen- 
erally thought the best practice to gradually bring it to a liquid state by the 
admixture of moderately warm milk, before it is poured into the cheese-tubs. 
The curd is then broken into small pieces, and the whey being thoroughly 
squeezed out, it is salted, wrapped in a cloth, and placed in a chessart, of 
such size as may be convenient, or is usually made in the neighborhood ; it is 
then pressed with weights proportionate to its size, and turned occasionally, 
until it becomes sufficiently firm to be taken out of the mould, and placed 
either on a cheese-rack, or on the floor of the cheese-room, where it is occa- 
sionally turned, and dry-rubbed with salt, and remains until fit for the market. 

Drying. — New cheese requires to be hardened by gradual drying before 
it becomes fit for market ; and the cheeses, when taken out of the mould, 
are, for this purpose, spread in a single layer on the floor of the cheese-loft, 
where they are daily turned by hand, in order to expose each surface alter- 
nately to the air. This, on a large dairy-farm, is a slow and laborious 
operation, which, as it devolves upon hired help, sometimes prevents them 



236 FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 

from paying proper attention to that essential duty. A machine has, there* 
fore, been invented to remedy this inconvenience, called a Swing Frame, 
vs^nich consists of a dozen strong shelves framed together, and having bar? 
nailed from top to bottom of one side of the back of the shelves, in order to 
prevent the cheeses from falling out vv^hile in the act of turning. The frame 
is suspended on tw^o strong pivots, one of which is let into the wall of the 
room, and the other is supported by a strong post. Two catches keep the 
frame upright, and prevent it from being turned more than half around. 
By first filling the shelf immediately below the axis of the frame, and then 
placing the cheeses alternately on the two nearest shelves above and below 
that which has been already filled, the preponderance of one side over the 
other can never be more than the weight of one cheese ; the whole power, 
therefore, required to turn the machine, cannot, in any circumstances, be 
greater than this and the friction of the pivots. The cheeses, in the act of 
turnino', drop upon those shelves, which, in the former position of the frame, 
were above them, and, having been exposed to a current of air for tM-enty 
four houv.«s previously, have become perfectly dry. The benefits of the 
machine are, that, hy means of it, nfty-five cheeses are turned in the same 
time which is required for turning two by hand ; that a room thus furnished 
will hold treble as many cheeses as when they are laid on the floor ; that 
the shade afforded by the shelves, together with the current of air which 
passes between them, has the effect, in hot weather, of preventing excessive 
sweating, and consequently loss both in weight and quality, as well as 
diminishing the necessity of rubbing the cheeses ; and, lastly, the ripening 
of the cheeses is hastened, so that, on an average, they are ready for market 
five weeks earlier than usual. 

The Slore-room. — The store-room should be kept temperately warm, 
and the shelves on the floor upon which the cheeses are laid should be 
strewed with dry moss, or fine hay, as the cheeses, when new, are other- 
wise apt to adhere to the boards, and thus acquire an unpleasant appearance. 
At a more advanced stage they may be laid upon straw ; but, at first, it 
would sink into the surface and deface them. The dried leaves of the 
tutsan, or of the yellow star of Bethlehem, and the twigs of the common 
birch-tree, are also thought to assist in preventing the depredations of 
mites. 

Green Whey. — The whey which runs from the curd without pressure 
is called " green whey," and is received from the cheese-tub into pans 
covered with a cloth, under which they are held, until it deposits a sedi 
ment, which is added to the curd, after which it is poured into the cistern ; 
while that which is pressed by hand from the curd is termed " white 
whey," and contains a considerable portion of oily matter ; so much so, that 



THE DAIRT. 237 

h. is in some cases kept apart, and set for cream. Most generally, however, 
the green and white are both scalded together, until they throw up a sub- 
stance in appearance between cream and curd, which is skimmed off so long 
as it rises, to be churned for lohey-lndter, the difference between which and 
milk-butter is something in favor of the latter. 

MODE OF MAKING THE CELEBRATED CHEESES. 

In all our dairies the same main points are admitted to be essential ; but, 
although the means of attaining them are nearly alike in similar sections 
of country, yet in others they difler materially in tlie minutiaj ; and as upon 
these much of the art of cheese-making depends, we give the details of the 
modes employed on some of the most celebrated descriptions of cheese, 
believing that it will be of material value to every American farmer, to be 
acquainted with the modus operandi of producing the finest articles of dairy 
labor. 

Cheshire Cheese. — The Cheshire cheese is generally made with two meals 
of milk, even in dairies where two cheeses are made in a day ; indeed, in 
the beginning and end of the season, three, four, and even five or six 
meals, are kept for the same cheese. The general custom is, to take about 
a pint of cream, when two-meal cheeses are made, from the night's milk of 
twenty cows. In order to make cheese of the best quality, and in the 
greatest abundance, it is, however, admitted that the cream should remain 
in the milk ; for whether the cream that is once separated from it can by 
any means be again so intimately united with it as not to undergo a decora- 
position in the after process, admits of a doubt. The more common prac- 
tice is, to set the evening's milk apart till the following morning, when the 
cream is skimmed off, and three or four gallons of the milk are poured into 
a brass pan, which is immediately placed in the furnace of hot water, and 
made scalding hot ; then half of the milk thus heated is poured upon the 
night's milk, and the other half is mixed with the cream, which is thus 
liquefied, so as, when put into the cheese-tub, to form one uniform fluid. 
This is done by the dairy- woman while the others are milking the cows, 
and the morning's milk being then immediately added to that of the even- 
ing, the whole mass is at once set together again for cheese. 

The rennet and coloring being then put into the tub, the whole is well 
stirred together, a wooden cover is put over the tub, and over that is thrown 
a linen cloth. The usual time of " coming," or curdling, is one hour and 
a half, during which time it is frequently to be examined. If the cream 
rises to the surface before the coming takes place, as it bften does, the 
whole must be stirred together so as to mix again the milk and the cream ; 
and this as often as it rises, until the coagulation commences. If the dairy- 



238 farmer's hand-book. 

woman supposes the milk to have been accidentally put together cooler than 
she intended, or that its coolness is the cause of its not coming, hot water, 
or hot milk, may be poured into it, or hot water in a brass pan may be par- 
tially immerged in it. This must, however, be done before it is at all 
coagulated, for the forming of the curd must not be tampered with. If it haa 
been set together too hot, the opposite means, under the same precautions, 
may be resorted to ; but the more general practice is to suffer the process 
to proceed, hot as it is, until the first quantity of whey is taken off, a part 
of which, being set to cool, is then returned into the tub to cool the curd, 
[f too little appears to have been used, it renders the curd exceedingly bit- 
ier, a(.d therefore an additional quantity may be put in ; but this must be 
done before the coagulation takes place, for, if added afterwards, it will be 
of little effect, as it cannot be used without disturbing the curd, which can 
then only acquire a proper degree of toughness by having some heated 
whey poured over it. For coloring, Spanish annatto is the drug usually 
employed, little more than the quarter of an ounce being sufficient for a 
cheese of sixty pounds. Other coloring matters are, however, used, such as 
marigolds boiled in milk, which gives a pleasant flavor, and carrots also 
boiled in milk and strained, which imparts a rich color, but a rather strong 
taste. The annatto is generally put in by rubbing a piece of it in a bowl 
with some warm milk, which is afterwards allowed to stand a little, in 
order to drain off the sediment, and is then mixed with the entire quantity. 

Within an hour and a half, as already mentioned, if all goes on well, the 
coagulation will be formed — a point which is determined by gently press- 
ing the surface of the milk with the back of the hand ; but in this test 
experience is the only guide, for the firmness of the curd, if the milk be set 
hot together, will be much greater than that from milk which has been set 
cold together. If the curd be firm, the usual practice is to take a common 
case-knife, and make incisions across it to the full length of the blade, at 
the distance of about one inch, and again crosswise in the same manner, the 
incisions intersecting each other at right angles. The cheese-maker and 
two assistants then proceed to break the curd, by repeatedly putting their 
hands down into the tub, and breaking every part of it as small as possible, 
this part of tlie business being continued until the whole is uniformly broken 
small. It generally takes up about forty minutes, and the curd is ■^hen 
left, covered over with a cloth, for about half an hour, to subside. 

The bottom of the tub is now set rather a-tilt, the curd is collected to the 
upper side of it, and a board is introduced, of a semi-circular form, to fit 
loosely one half of the tub's bottom. This board is placed on the curd, and 
a sixty-pounds' weight upon it, to press out the whey, which, draining to the 
lower side of the tilted tub, is ladled out into brass pans. Such parts of the 



THE DAIRY. 2rf9 

curd as are pressed from under the board are cut off with a knife, placed 
under the weighted board, and again pressed ; the operation being repeated 
again and again, until the whey is entirely drawn from the curd. The 
whole mass of curd is then turned upside down, and put on the other side 
of the tub, to be pressed as before. The board and weight being removed, 
the curd is afterwards cut into pieces of about eight or nine inches square, 
piled upon each other, and pressed both with the weight and hand ; these 
several operations being repeatedly performed, as long as any whey appears 
to remain in it. 

The next thing is to cut the curd into three nearly equal portions, one of 
which is taken into a brass pan, and is there by two persons broken ex- 
tremely fine, a large handful of salt being added, and well mixed with it. 
That portion of curd being sufficiently broken, is put into a cheese-vat, 
which is placed to receive it, on a cheese-ladder over the cheese-tub, the 
vat being furnished with a coarse cheese-cloth. The second and third por- 
tions of the curd are treated in the same manner, and emptied into the vat, 
except that into the middle portion eight, nine, or ten times the quantity 
of salt is usually put. By some, however, each portion is salted alike, and 
with no more than three large handfuls to each. The breaking takes up 
more or less time, as the cheese was set together hotter or colder ; half an 
hour is, perhaps, the longest. 

The curd, when put into the cheese-vat in its broken state, is heaped 
above the vat in a conical form ; to prevent it from crumbling down, the 
four corners of the cheese-cloth are turned up over it, and three persons, 
placing their hands against the conical part, gently, but forcibly, press it 
together, constantly shifting their hands when any portion of the curd is 
starting from the mass, and folding down the cloth upon it. So soon as the 
curd adheres together so as to admit of it, a small square board, with i 
corner of the .cloth under it, is put on the top with a sixty-pounds' weight, 
or a lever, such as that which has been described, is pressed upon it. Sev- 
eral iron skewers are at the same time stuck in the cone, as well as through 
holes in the side of the vat, from which they are occasionally drawn out and 
fixed in other spots, until not a drop of whey is discharged. The weight 
and skewers are then removed, and the corners of the cloth are held up by 
hands, or by a wooden hoop, while the curd is broken as small as possible, 
half way to the bottom of the vat, and the same operation of pressing and 
skewering is repeated. The four corners of the cloth are then taken up, 
while the vat is drawn away, and rinsed in warm whey ; a clean cloth ia 
then put over the upper part of the curd, and it is returned inverted into the 
vat ; it is then broken half way through in the same manner as before, 
which several operations occu{^ from three to four hours. 



240 farmer's hand-book. 

When no more whey can be extracted by these means from the cheese, it 
is again turned in .the vat, and rinsed as before in warm whey. The cloth 
now made use of is finer and larger than the former, and is so laid that on 
one side it shall be level with the edge of the vat, and on the other wrap 
over the whole surface of the cheese ; the edges being put within the vat, 
thui5 perfectly enclosing the entire mass. In this stage of the business the 
cheese is still higher than the edge of the vat ; and, to preserve it in due 
form, recourse is had to a binder, about three inches broad, either as a hoop 
or as a cheese-fillet, which is a strong, broad, coarse sort of tape, which is 
put around the cheese, on the outside of the cloth, and the lower edge of 
the binder pressed down within the vat, so low as that the upper edge of it 
may be level with the surface. The cheese is then carried to the press, and 
a stiong, smooth board being placed over it, the press is gently let dowa 
upon it, the usual power of which is about fourteen or fifteen hundred 
veight. In most dairies there are two presses, and in many three or four, 
of di.Terent weights, the cheese being by some put first under the heaviest, 
and by others under the lightest. 

As soon as the cheese is put into the press, it is immediately well skew- 
ered, the skewers being of strong wire, eighteen or twenty inches long, 
sharp at the points and broad at the other end, the vat and binder having 
holes, seldom more than an inch asunder, to receive them. As the press 
always stands near the wall, only one side of the cheese can be skewered at 
the same time, and it must therefore be turned half way round, whenever 
that ia necessary ; but this occasions no inconvenience, as the skewers must 
be frequently shifted, and many more holes are made than skewers to fill 
them. In half an hour from the time when the cheese is first put into the 
press, it is taken out again, and turned, in the vat, into another clean cloth : 
after v/hich it is returned to the vat, but is by some persons previously put 
naked into warm whey, where it stands an hour or more, for the purpose of 
hardening its coat. At six o'clock in the evening, the cheese is again 
turned in the vat into another clean cloth, and some dairy- women prick its 
upper surface all over an inch or two deep, with a view of preventing 
blisterti. These, however, if they occur, can be remedied by opening thein 
with a penknife and pouring hot water into the incision ; then press down 
the outer rind, put on a little salt, and place a piece of slate with a half- 
pound weight upon it. At six o'clock in the next morning, it is again 
turned in the vat, with a clean cloth as before, and the skewers are laid 
aside ; it is also turned two or three times more, both morning and evening, 
at the last of which finer cloths are used than those at first, in order that as 
little inipression as possible may be made on its coat. 

After the cheese has remained about forty-eight hours under the press, it 



THE DAIRY. 241 

is taiien out, fine cloth being used merely as a lining to the vat, without 
covering the upper part of the cheese, which is then placed nearly mid-deep 
in a salting-tub, its upper surface being covered all over with salt. It 
stands there generally about three days, is turned daily, and at each turning 
well salted, tlie cloth being changed twice in the time. It is then taken out 
of tlie vat, in lieu of which a wooden girth, or hoop, is made use of, equal 
in breadth to the tliickness nearly of the cheese, and in this it is placed on 
the salting-bench, where it stands about eight days, being well salted all 
over, and turned each day. The cheese is then washed in lukewarm water, 
and, after being wiped, is placed on the drying-bench, where it remains 
about a week ; it is then again washed and dried as before, and after it has 
stood about two hours, it is smeared all over with about two ounces of 
sweet whey-butter, and then placed in the warmest part of the clieese-room. 
On the cheese coming into the salting-house, it is, in some dairies, taken 
out of the vat, and after its sides are well rubbed with salt, is returned into 
the vat with a clean fresh cloth under it ; the top being covered witli salt, 
it is placed on the salting-benches, turned and salted twice a day, and the 
cloth changed every second day. On the salting-benches it is continued 
seven or eight days, when it is taken out of the vat, and with a wooden 
hoop, or cheese-fillet, around it, is put into the salting-tub, and managed as 
before described. 

While it is remaining in the warmest part of the cheese-room, it is, 
during the first seven days, rubbed every day all over, and generally smeared 
with sweet butter ; after which it should for some time be turned daily, and 
rubbed three times a week in summer, and twice in winter. 

Tlie details of this process, however, apply only to cheesesof sixty pounds' 
weight, and the quantity of salt used to them is uncertain. The greatest is 
about three pounds each ; but much of it is wasted, and whether the cheese 
acquires much saltness in the salting-house, dairymen themselves are doubt- 
ful, though much salt is there expended. Respecting the heating of the 
milk, the practice must evidently vary according to the weather. The 
sponginess and heaving of the cheese, which are sometimes complained of, 
are faults which are to be attributed more to inattention on the part of the 
operators than to want of actual skill, — the remedy being careful breaking, 
good thrusting, frequent skewering, and powerful pressing ; they not im- 
probably arise partly from the use of cold and warm milk, which, if mixed 
together, will generate air. Those of pungency and rankness, wliich are 
commonly imputed to impurity in the rennet, and by some to the want of 
salt, may be also more properly ascribed to the fermentation occasioned by 
the imperfect discharge of the whey. 

Glmoester Cheese. — When the curd is sufficiently firm for breaking, it 
21 Q 



242 farmer's hand-book. 

is gently and slowly cut crosswise, to the bottom of the tub, at about an inch 
apart, with a three-bladed knife of fourteen inches long. When it has stood 
five or ten minutes, to allow it to sink a little, and the whey to come out a3 
clean as possible, some of the whey is dipped out of it with a bowl, and the 
curd is again cut. This must also be at first done slowly, and with strokes 
at a considerable distance from each other, for, if performed hurriedly, a 
great sediment of curd will be found in the whey-leads ; it should, however, 
be gradually quickened, and the strokes taken nearer and nearer every time, 
one hand with the skimming-dish keeping the whole in motion, and turning 
up the lumps suspended in the whey, while the other cuts them as small as 
possible. This process may occupy a quarter of an hour. 

The curd is now allowed to settle during a quarter of an hour, when the 
whey is taken from it, and poured through a very fine sieve placed over the 
whey-leads, the curd being then cut into lumps, from which most of the re- 
maining whey escapes. The curd is then pressed down with the hand into 
vats, which are covered with large cheese-cloths of fine canvas, and placed 
in the press for half an hour, after which they are taken out, and the curd 
put into a mill, which tears it into small crumbs, and saves the laborious 
part of squeezing and rubbing it with the hands, while it also retains that 
portion of the oily matter which would be otherwise lost to the cheese, and 
thus occasions a great improvement in the making. 

In this pulverized state it is customary to scald the curd with hot whey, 
though some consider the cheese richer when not scalded, for this washes 
out a part of the fat. The whey should, nevertheless, be completely ex- 
tracted, and the curd fitted into the vat as compactly as possible, being 
rounded up in the middle, but only just so much as that it can be pressed 
down to a level. A cheese-cloth is then spread over the vat, and a little 
hot water is thrown over the cloth, as tending to harden the outside of the 
cheese, and prevent it from cracking. The curd is now turned out of the 
vat into the cloth, and the inside of the vat being washed in whey, the in- 
verted curd, with the cloth around it, is again returned to it; the cloth is 
then folded over, and the vat put into the press, where it remains about two 
hours, after which it is taken out and dry cloths applied, which should be 
repeated in the course of the day ; it is then replaced in the press until the 
cheese is salted, wliich is generally done within twenty-four hours after it 
IS made. 

The salting is performed by rubbing the entire cheese with finely pow- 
dered salt ; for if the curd be salted before being put into the vat, its parti- 
cles do not intimately unite, and although it may become a good cheese, it 
is loose and crumbly, and never becomes a sm.ooth, close, solid mass, like 
that which has been salted after it has been made ; but this is never done 



THE DAIRY. 243 

until the skin is closed, for if there be any crack in it at that time, it will 
not afterwards close. The cheese is after this returned to the vat and put 
under the press, in which more cheeses than one are placed together, care 
being always taken to put the newest lowest in the press, and the oldest 
uppermost. The salting is repeated three times, — the cloths being removed 
after the second, in order to efface their marks, — and twenty-four hours are 
allowed to intervene between each ; thus the cheese is wituin five days 
taken from the press to the cheese-room, though in damp weather it should 
remain somewhat longer. There it is turned every day for a month, when 
it is ready for cleaning, which is done by scraping with a common knife, 
llie operator sitting down to perform the operation. When it has been 
cleared from all scurf, it is rubbed all over with a woollen cloth dipped in 
paint made of Indian red, or Spanish brown, and small beer ; and as soon as 
the state of the paint will permit, the edge of the cheese, and about an inch 
on each side, are rubbed hard with a cloth, every week. The quantity of 
salt is generally about three and a half pounds to the hundred weight, and 
one pound of annatto is enough for half a ton of cheese. 

The true characteristics of the double Gloucester cheese consist in its great 
richness, together with the mildness of its flavor, and that waxy texture 
which makes it cut, even in thin slices, without crumbling ; while its oily 
matter is retained in toasting, by merely softening itself, without being 
burned. 

Stillon Cheese. — This article, so proverbial for its richness, is made by 
putting the night's cream, without any portion of the skimmed milk, to the 
milk of the following morning ; but those who wish to make it very fine 
add a still greater quantity of cream, and of course the richness of the cheese 
depends upon the amount which is used. Butter is also said to be some- 
times mixed with it. The rennet is then added, without any coloring ; and, 
when the curd has come, it is taken out without being broken, and put whole 
into a sieve, or drainer, where it is pressed with weights until entirely 
cleared of whey. When dry it is put, with a clean cloth, into a hooped 
chessart, and placed under the press, the outer coat being first salted 
When sufficiently firm to be removed from this mould, the cheese is placed 
upon a dry board, and tightly bound in a cloth, which is changed daily, in 
order to avoid all danger of cracks in the skin, until this is found to be 
tolerably well coated, after which it is no longer used, and the cheese re- 
quires no further care than being frequently turned upside down, and occa- 
sionally brushed. 

The cheeses of this kind, although not much larger than the crown of an 
ordinary sized hat — the form of wliich they much resemble — and not weigh- 
ing more than about a dozen pounds, yet require nearly two years to bring 



244 farmer's hand-book. 

them to maturity ; for they are not generally thought sufficiently mellowed foi 
use until considerably decayed ; and, in order to forward their ripeness, it ia 
said that, besides their being placed in damp but warm cellars, they are 
sometimes wrapped in strong brown paper, and sunk in a hot-bed. It is 
also stated that the flavor of an old cheese may be communicated to a new 
one, of whatever species, by some portions being intermixed with it. This 
is done by extracting saiall pieces, with the sample-scoop, from each cheese, 
and interchanging them ; by this means, the new one, if well covered up 
from the air, will in a few weeks become thoroughly impregnated with the 
mould, and with a flavor hardly to be distinguished from the old one. The 
cheeses selected for this operation should, however, be dry, and the blue 
mould should be free from any portion of a more decayed appearance. 

Dunlop Cheese. — The Dunlop has acquired a high reputation for its mild 
richness, and is made as follows : When so many cows are kept on one farm 
as that a cheese of any tolerable size may be made every time they are 
milked, the milk is passed, immediately as it comes from them, through a 
sieve into the vat, and, when the whole is collected, it is formed into a curd 
by the mixture of the rennet. Where, however, the cows are not so numer- 
ous as to yield milk sufficient to form a cheese at each meal, the milk of 
another meal is stored about six or eight inches deep in coolers, ajid placed 
in the milk-house. The cream is then skimmed from the milk in the cool- 
ers, and, without being heated, is put into the curd-vat, along with the milk 
just drawn from the cows, and the cold milk, from which the cream has been 
taken, is heated so as to raise the temperature to about blood-heat. This, 
indeed, is a matter of great importance ; and though in summer 90° may be 
sufficient, yet, upon the average of winter weather, 95° will be generally 
found requisite. If coagulated much warmer, the curd becomes too ad- 
hesive, much of the butyraceous matter is lost in the whey, and the cheese 
will be found dry, tough, and tasteless ; but if too cold, the curd, which is 
then soft, does not part readily with the serum, and the cheese is so want- 
ing in firmness that it is difficult to be kept together ; indeed, even when the 
utmost pains are taken to extract the whey, and give solidity to the cheese, 
holes — which, in dairy language, are termed " eyes," " whey-drops," and 
" springs " — frequently break out, rendering them either rancid or insipid. 

About a table-spoonful of the liquid rennet is generally thought sufficient 
for twenty-five gallons of milk, and the curd is usually formed by it within 
twelve or fifteen minutes, though in some dairies — of course, in consequence 
of the difference of strength in the rennet — it does not come from three 
quarters of an hour to an hour, though double the quantity of rennet is used. 
The curd is then broken with the skimming-dish, or with the hand, and the 
whey ought to be taken off as speedily as possible, though without pressing, 



THE DAIRY. 246 

as the least violence has been found to make it come off white, and thus 
weaken the quality of the cheese. The best method of separating the whey 
from the curd is, in the first instance, to lift the edge of the cheese-tub, and 
let the whey run off slowly from it into a vessel placed underneath. The 
tub is tlien let down to stand a little, after which it is turned one fourth 
round, and another collection emptied off; thus, by turning the tub a fourth 
time round every time, it is found to part from the curd more pure and 
quickly. 

When quite freed from the whey, and the curd has acquired a little con 
sistence, it is then cut with the cheese-knife, gently at first, and more 
minutely as it hardens, after which it is put into the drainer (which is a 
square vessel, with small holes in the bottom, and a cover to fit inside), on 
which the lid is placed, with a cloth thrown over it ; and a slight pressure 
— say from forty to fifty pounds, according to the quantity of curd — being 
laid on, it is allowed to stand from fifteen to twenty minutes, or half an 
hour. It is then cut into pieces of two inches square, the whey is again 
discharged, and the weight, being doubled, is replaced. The process of 
cutting it smaller every half hour, and increasing the weight until the press- 
ure is upwards of a hundred pounds, is continued for three or four hours. 
It is then cut very small, and minutely salted, half an ounce being suffi- 
cient. 

A clean cheese-cloth, rinsed in warm water and wrung out, being then 
placed in the chessart, the cheese is turned upside down, and laid, with in- 
creased weight, under the press, during the whole night. Next morning, 
and during the three or four days which it must remain in the press, it is 
daily turned repeatedly, dry cloths being each time used, and the weight is 
gradually increased, until the pressure amounts to at least a ton. 

When ultimately taken from the press, the cheeses are generally kept 
during a week or ten days in the farmer's kitchen, where they are turned 
three or four times every day, and rubbed with a dry cloth. They are then 
removed to the store-room, which should be in a cool exposure, between 
damp and dry, without the sun being allowed to shine upon them, or yet a 
great current of air admitted ; this gradual mode of ripening being found 
essential lo prevent the fermentation and heaving of the cheese, as well as 
the cracking of the rind ; but attention must be paid to rub them with a dry 
cloth, and turn them daily for a month or two, and twice every week after- 
wards. 

Practical Suggestions. — Such, then, are the most usual modes of manu- 
facturing the world-renowned cheeses to which we have alluded, in which 
the difference employed is in some cases very striking and important. 
Thus, in the preparation of rennet, the bag itself is in some places used 
21* 



246 farmer's hand-book. 

while elsewhere the liquid decoction extracted from it is so much strong-er 
that it occasions the curd to coagulate, as we have just seen, within fifteen 
minutes ; and in other places, it occupies an hour and a half, and not unfre- 
quently more than two hours. Now, it is not only the delay which is thus 
disadvantageous ; for it is well known that the degree of heat at which the 
curd is set is one of the nicest points in cheese-making, and we can hardly 
imagine how that can be properly regulated, if it be allowed to stand so long 
cooling in the cheese-tub. 

The temperature to which the last night's milk is heated when there is 
not sufficient to make a cheese that one meal, and the mode in which the cream 
is managed, differ also in various dairies ; nor does there appear any objec- 
tion to the practice of making the last night's milk into cheese, provided it 
be so gradually heated as that the cream does not run the risk of being con- 
verted into oil, as it does if too suddenly healed ; yet we believe that, when 
once separated from the milk, the cream can never again be so completely 
blended with it as to be entirely retained in the curd when set ; it conse- 
quently runs off with the whey, and leaves the cheese of inferior quality. 

The skewering of the curd, as practised in some dairies, is unknown in 
most other places ; and the labor of several persons employed for three or 
four hours in thrusting or hand-pressing it into the vat is an operation 
which is generally managed in other dairies with a couple of maids, and in 
one quarter of the time. 

The heaving of the cheese is attributed to the imperfection of its ferment- 
ation, occasioned in a great measure by the store-rooms — though com- 
monly placed over the cow-house — not being sufficiently heated, so as to 
occasion its sweating ; yet, in the account of the Dunlop cheese, objection 
is made to heated stores, as causing an improper degree of fermentation. 

The rankness of flavor, which is mostly attributed to the impurity of the 
rennet, is by others ascribed to the nature of the pasture. In this, both sup- 
positions may be right ; for it must be evident that it may be readily 
occasioned by the use of a large quantity of badly-prepared rennet ; and we 
learn from the management of one of the dairies, where every means were 
taken to avoid the fault, that the cheese still maintained an unpleasant taste 
of tlie same description, which could, therefore, have only arisen from the 
herbage. It was, however, at length uniformly overoome by throwing 
about half a tea-spoonful of saltpetre into the pail before the cows were 
milked. The cracks which frequently take place in cheese are also by 
many persons supposed to proceed from lime having been used as a manure 
upon land laid down to pasture, and afterwards fed by cows ; but this is 
probably a mistake, for it rarely occurs in the Dunlop sort, though perhaps 
as much lime has been applied to the soil where that descripticn is made a» 



THj: DAIRY. 247 

to any other. It is more probably owing to the cheese being exposed, before 
it is dry, to too much draught of air. 

The mode of salting is also very differently conducted in several dairies ; 
in some the practice being to cure the cheese after it has been removed 
from the vat, while in others the salt is minutely mixed into the curd pre- 
viously to its being put into the vat. Both practices, nevertheless, appe-ir 
to be attended with equally good effects, but the latter certainly occasions 
less trouble, without any waste of salt. 

Skim-milk Cheese. — This article, made of milk from which the entire of 
the cream has been taken, is, of course, more or less palatable in propor- 
tion to the time during which ihe milk is allowed to stand ; for if that be so 
long as to deprive it entirely of the butyraceous or oily matter, it becomes 
indigestible, and so hard that, in some places, where large quantities of it 
are made, it is said that, instead of being cut with a knife, it is usually 
chopped with a hatchet. 

The milk should, if possible, not be allowed to become sour ; and the mo- 
ment it has been skimmed, it should be heated to no more than animal heat, 
or about 90° ; for, if put together too hot, its toughness will be increased, 
and as the curd coagulates more readily than that of full-milk cheese, the 
same degree of heat is not necessary. This is the chief perceptible dilference 
in management, except that the curd is more difficult to be broken, and tiiat 
the cheese needs less of the press ; but in all other respects the mode of 
making is the same. It will also be sooner ready for use than whole-milk 
cheese of the same weight. 

Cream Cheese. — This being, in general, only wanted for immediate use, 
is, in fact, little else than thick, sweet cream, dried by being put into a 
small oheese-vat of about an inch and a half in depth, perforated with 
small holes in the bottom, to allow any portion of the milk -which may be 
mixed with it to escape. It is also covered with rushes, or the long grass 
of Indian corn, so disposed as to admit of its being turned without being 
handled, and it is never pressed except gently by the hand between cloths. 
It is thus kept in warm situations to sweat and ripen ; for, if once pene- 
trated by frost, or even chilled, much of its meHow richness is lost, and 
it becomes comparatively insipid. The extreme of heat should, however, 
be equally guarded against, or it becomes rank; and, therefore, some 
judgment is requisite in the time for using it in perfection. 

New Cheese. — New cheese is only made in the early part of summer, 
when the cows have been turned out to grass, and is formed entirely of new 
milk, with about one third of warm water added before the rennet is put tc 
it. The whey is then gently poured off, and the curd is carefully kept 
entire until put into a vat of considerable diameter, but only about an inch 



248 FARMER S HAND-BOOK. 

in depth. It is very gently pressed for a few hours only, and wnen 
removed from the vat, it is covered with a cloth, which is frequently 
changed, and so scon as the skin is formed it is considered fit for use. 

Parmesan Cheese. — This is prepared as follows : The cows are kept in 
the house nearly the whole year round, and fed during the summer with 
cut grass, and in the winter upon hay. The weight of these cheeses 
varies from sixty to one hundred and eighty pounds ; it consequently 
requires a great number of cows to produce one of even the smallest weight, 
and as the farms in that territory are not large, the dairymen club together. 

The mode of making is this : The summer cheese, which is the best, is 
made of the evening milk, after having been skimmed in the morning, and 
at noon, mixed with the morning milk, which is also skimmed at noon. 
Both kinds of milk are poured together into a large copper cauldron, of the 
shape of an inverted bell, which is suspended on the arm of a lever, so as to 
be moved on and off the fire at pleasure. In this vessel the milk is 
gradually heated to the temperature of about 120°, after which it is removed 
from the fire and kept quiet for a few minutes, until all internal motion has 
ceased. The rennet is then added, which is composed of the stomach of a 
calf, fermented together with wheaten meal and salt, the method of using 
it being to tie a piece, of the size of a hazelnut, in a rag, and steep it in 
the milk, while held in the hand, and squeezing it from time to time. A 
sufficient quantity of the rennet thus soon passes through the rag into the 
milk, which is now to be well stirred, and afterwards left at rest to 
coagulate. 

Within about an hour the coagulation is complete, and then the milk is 
again put over the fire, and raised to a temperature of 145°. During all the 
time it is heating, the mass is briskly stirred, till the curd separates in small 
lumps, when a part of the whey is taken out, and a few pinches of saffron 
are added to the remainder, in order to color it. When the curd is suffi- 
ciently broken, nearly the whole of the whey is taken out, and two pailfuls 
of cold water are poured in. The temperature is thus lowered, so as to 
enable the operator to collect the curd by passing a cloth beneath it, and 
gathering it up at the corners. It is now pressed into a frame of wood, 
placed on a solid platform, and covered Ijy a round piece of wood fitting into 
the mould, with a heavy weight at top. In the course of the night it cools, 
parts with the whey, and assumes a firm consistence. The next day one 
side is rubbed with salt, and the succeeding day the cheese is turned, and 
the other side rubbed in like manner, this alternate salting being continued 
for about forty days. After this period, the outer crust of the cheese is 
pared off, the fresh surface is varnished with linseed oil, the convex side is 
colored red, and the cheese is fit for market. 



THE BAIRY. 24S 

Potato Cheese. — Cheese, which is said to be of very fine quality, is 
partly formed from potatoes, being made in the following manner : — The 
potatoes of a large, white kind, are those to be preferred, and after being 
boiled, they are peeled, when cool, and reduced to a pulp, of equal con- 
sistence, either by being grated or ground in a mortar. To five pounds of 
this pulp there is added one pound, or about a pint, of sour milk, with tlie 
usual quantity of salt to impart a flavor ; the whole is then kneaded together, 
and, being covered up, is allowed to remain for three or four days, according 
to the season. At the expiration of this time, the pulp is again kneaded, 
and placed in one or more small wicker baskets, in order to get rid of the 
superfluous moisture ; the pulp is then moulded into form by being placed 
in small pots, in which the cheeses are allowed to dry in the shade during 
about fifteen days, after which they are put in store. The older they are, 
the better they become ; and, if kept dry, they will keep for a great number 
of years. Three kinds of this cheese are made : the first, or most common, 
according to the above proportions ; the second, with four parts of potatoes 
and two parts of curdled milk ; and the third, with two parts of potatoes 
and four of milk. Ewe-milk is as frequently employed as that of cows, and 
imparts a pungent taste, which to many palates is found agreeable. 

Green or Sage Cheese. — The method pursued in the making of this 
article is, to steep over night, in a proper quantity of milk, two parts of 
sage, one part of marigold-leaves, and a little parsley, after they have been 
bruised. On the following morning, the greened milk is strained off, and 
mixed with about one third of the whole quantity intended to be run or 
coagulated. The green and white milks are run separately, the two curds 
being kept apart, until ready for vatting ; these may be mixed, either evenly 
and intimately, or irregularly and fancifully. The management is the 
same as for common cheese. 



CHAPTER VI. 

FRUITS, FRUIT-TREES, VINES, &o. 

STANDARD KINDS : APPLE APKICOT BAKBEEKT BLACKBERRY CHERRY 

CR-4.NBERRY CURRANT GOOSEBERRY GRAPE MEDLAR INIELON 

MULBERRY NECTARINE PEACH PEAR PLUM QUINCE RASPBERRY 

— STRAWBERRY. . MISCELLANEOUS KINDS : ALMOND BLUEBERRY BUT- 
TERNUT CHESTNUT FIG FILBERT LEMON LIME OLIVE ORANGE 

POMEGRANATE SHELLBARK WAiNUT— WHORTLEBERRY ; WITH A MONTHLY 

CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS. 

THE APPLE, 

Propagation. — The apple may be propagated by seeds, cuttings of the 
branches or roots, by layers, suckers, in arching, grafting, or budding; but 
the last two modes are principally for continuing varieties, and seeds are 
used to obtain new varieties. 

Soil and Situation. — It will grow in any common soil, neither too sandy 
gravelly, nor clayey, on a dry subsoil, and a free exposure. 

Mode of Bearing, dj-c. — The apple bears invariably on the old wood 
often on that of the preceding year ; and the blossoms continue being pro- 
duced from terminal and lateral spurs, or short, robust shoots, many years. 
These spurs require to be thinned out when they become crowded, to be 
shortened when they become too long, and to be cut in when they become 
60 old as to produce smaller fruit than is desirable. 

Pruning. — The object of this is to admit the light and air among the 
branches, to preserve the symmetry of the head by causing it to spread 
equally and in the same form and manner on every side, and to eradicate 
diseased branches. (See chapter on Grafting, Budding, Pruning. &c., 

Fig. 118. 




Gathering and Keeping. — The common mode of keeping, by those who 
grow apples in large quantities for the market, is to lay them in heaps in 

(250) 



FRUITS, FRUIT-TKEES, VINES, ETC. 



251 



cool dry cellars, and cover them with abundance of straw. They may be 
kept in a cellar, packed in barrels, the interstices filled with dry sand, so as 

Fig. 119. 



to exclude the air. Table apples may be spread upon shelves, or packed 
in sand, fern, or straw, in jars. 

VARIETIES. 

Summer Appks. 
Early Harvest. — This is one of the earliest varieties worthy of cultiva- 
tion; its form is flat, medium size, bright straw-colored skin, flesh tender 

Fis. 120. 




and sprightly. In the Middle and Western States it grows well, and is 
much esteemed. Ripens in .Tuly and August. 

Red Astrachan. — This is a fruit of extraordinary beauty. It bears abun- 
dantly, the fruit being rather above the middle size, and very smooth and 
fair, roundish, a little narrowed towards the eye. The prevailing color is 
deep crimson, with sometimes a little greenish yellow in the shade, and 
occasionally a little russet near the stalk, and covered with a pale white 
bloom. Stalk rather short, and deeply inserted. Flesh white, crisp, 
moderately juicy, of a rich, acid, agreeable flavor. Ripe in August, and 
does not keep a long time after gathering. Hardy, vigorous, and produc- 
tive Adapted to various soils and climates. Fig. 121. 



252 



FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 
Fig. 121. 




Fiff. 122. 




FRUITS, FRUIT-TREES, VINES, ETC. 



253 



WilUams''s Favorite. — This is a moderate grower and a good bearer, 
requiring a strong soil to perfect it. It is large and handsome, and ripens 
from the last of July to the first of September. Skin very smooth, nearly 
covered with a fine dark red Flesh yellowish- white, of mild and agieeable 
flavor. Fig. 122. 

Fig. 123. 




Fig. 124. 




254 



FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 



Juneating. — This is an old, favorite variety, of small size, flat forn\, 
long and thin stalk ; color a pale green, turning to light yellow when ripe ; 
the skin has an oily feel ; the taste is pleasant. Bears abundantly in 
good ground, ripening from the last of June to the middle of July. Fig. 123. 

Summer Queen. — A popular apple, of the finest quality and appetrance. 
Large size ; color fine, rich, vellow ground, mixed with red striped , long 
Btalk ; large tree ; great bearer ; flesh rich, yellow, and agreeable flavor. 
Best on sandy soil. Fig. 124. 

Fis. 125. 




Maiden'' s Blush. — An apple of large size and great beauty ; has a yellow 
ground, bright red cheek ; form flat ; smooth skin ; flesh white, tender, and 
sprightly ; ripens in August, hardy, and great bearer. Fig. 125. 

Remarks. — The above comprise some of the most universally esteemed 
Summer apples ; to which may be added the following well-established sorts, 
out of hundreds contained in the nursery catalogues : — American Summer 
Pearmain, a staple sort in New Jersey ; Benoni ; Cole, large and hand- 
some : Early Red Margaret, a capital fruit, ripe in July ; Early Strawberry, 
much esteemed in New York; Large Yelloio Bough, a fine dessert fruit, 
Su7nmer Rose, dessert; Sapson; Tucker; Manomet Sweeting; Spice Sweet: 
Red Quarrenden. 

Fall Apples, 
Porter. — A large and popular variety, very productive ; skin bright 
yellow, with a blush ; flesh fine-grained and juicy ; ripens last of Septem< 
ber to October. 



FRUITS, FRUIT-TREES, VINES, Eli;. 



255 



Fall Pippin. — A fine kind, quite popular in the Middle States. Large 
size ; round ; skin smooth, oily, bright greenish-yellow, slightly speckled ; 
flesh white, tender, juicy, of a superior flavor. Ripens from last of Octo- 
Der to December. 

Gravejistein. — Vigorous tree, and very productive. Fruit large; color 
clear straw or yellow, with stripes of red ; flesh pale yellow, crisp, delicious 



Fig. 126. 




256 



FARMER S HAND-BOOK. 



flavor. A fine fruit for dessert, cooking, or cider ; ripe in September and 
October. Fig. 126. 

Rarnbo. — Sometimes called Gilpin, Romanite, Bread and Cheese, and 
Seck-no-further. Popular in Middle States. Does well on a light sandy 
soil. Size not large ; flat ; skin smooth ; color variegated . flesh greenish- 
white, tender, rich, slightly acid. Productive, ripening last of October to 
late in the season. Fig. 127. 

Yellow Bellflower. — A much-admired fruit, rather preferring a sandy 
soil. Fruit large, oblong ; skin smooth ; color pale yellow, with a blush 
flosh juicy, tender, sub-acid. A good bearer, ripening in November. 




Remarks. — The five preceding varieties are among the choicest /^rf? 
apples. There are others of nearly equal value, such as the Golden Sweet ; 
Richardson ; Summer Bellflower, of New York ; Bars, of Rhode Island ; 
Lyman's Large Summer, of Connecticut ; Winthrop Greening, of Maine ; 
Early Joe, of New York ; Mexico, of Connecticut ; Superb Sweet, of Mas- 
sachusetts ; Fairbanks; Sassafras, or Haskell Sweet; Fall Wine; Lowell; 
Moses Wood; Jersey Sweeting; Lelaj^i Pippin; Potnme Royal, of Ohio; 



FRUITS, FRUIT-TREES, VINES, ETC. 



257 



Fig. 129. 




258 



FARMERS HAND-BOOK. 



Lyscom; Magnolia; ThompMns, JewetVs Red, Fameuse; Golden Ball; 
Hurlhut , Belmont ; HerefordsJdre Pearmain. 

Winter and Spring Apples. 

Esopus Spitzenberg. — This apple possesses great beauty and exquisite 
flavor. Large size ; skin fair and smooth ; color bright red, with small 
spots; flesh yellow, rich, juicy, and sprightly ; good bearer. Fig. 129. 

Baldwin. — Also called Pecker, and Steele's Red Winter. Ranks very 
high in the northern markets. Fruit large, roundish ; color yellow and 
dull red, streaked and dotted; flesh nale-white, crisp, highly flavored. 
Good bearer, ripening from November to April. Fig. 130. 

Hubbardston Nonsuch. — A superior variety. The tree grows large, 
vigorous, and handsome ; bears abundantly. Fruit large, globular, or coni- 




cal ; coloi yellow, with stripes of pale red , flesh yellow, juicy, rich, sweet 
relieved by a slight acid. Ripens in November and December. 

Westfield Seek-no-further. — Same as the Seek-no-further of Connecticul 
— an old and valued fruit. Size large ; round ; color pale red and green, 
with slightly yellow dots ; flesh white, tender, and rich. Fig. 132. 



FRUITS, FRUIT-TREES, VINES, ETC. 



259 



Neiotown Pippin. — The Green and the Yellow are two distinct VErietiea 
of this apple. It grows well in the Middle and Western States. Size 
medium ; flesh fine, firm, crisp, juicy, very superior flavor. 

Fig. 132. 




Fiff. 133. 




Roxbury Russet. — Very popular, and extensively grown. Medium size. 



260 



farmer's hand-book. 



roundish, somewhat flat ; skin dull green or brownish-yellow ; flesh green- 
ish white, compact, slightly acid, but rich flavored. Ripe in Dec. Fig. 133. 

Rhode Island Greening. — Also called Jersey; and Burlington Greening. 
A very large fruit, flat ul its base and summit; color yellowish-green, with 
dark spots ; flesh yellow, tender ; rich, juicy, acid flavor ; ripens from Sep- 
tember to March ; bears abundantly. A universal favorite. 

Golden Pippin. — Beautiful dessert apple. Small, round, symmetrical; 
gold color, with dark dots ; flesh yellowish ; rich, sprightly flavor ; great 




bearer, flourishing best on a strong sandy loam. Ripens November to 
March. 

Lady Apple. — Superior for the table. Fruit small, but beautiful ; rather 
flat ; skin smooth ; color yellow and red ; flesh firm, white, well flavored. 

Pig. 135. 




Remarks. — It would be easy to extend the foregoing list of Winter and 
Spring apples, had we the room requisite. We have described the most 
desirable standard sorts for cultivation in this country, and subjoin the 



FRUITS, FRUIT-TREES, VINES, ETC. 



261 



names of other varieties of note : Detroit ; Northern Spy ; Blue Pearmain ; 
Peck's Pleasant; Swaar ; Waxen Apple; King; Gloria Mundi; Norton's 
Melon; Golden Reinetie ; Hollow Crown Pearmain; Ladies' Sweeting; Dan- 
vers Winter Sweeting; Fort Miami; Wood's Greening; Vandevere ; Jona- 
than; Minister; Old Nonsuch; Prior's Red; Leicester Sweeting; Tolman 
Sweeting; American Golden Russet; Little Pearmain; Tewksbury Winter 
Blush; Raule's Janette; Rockrimmon; Never Fail. 

Cider Apples. 
The most valuable kinds for the manufacture of cider are the Harrison 
(Fig. 136) and Camfield, extensively raised in the Middle States, being rich 




in flavor, and bearing very abundantly ; Hugh's Virginia Crab, small size, 
but ^ery productive ; and the Red Streak. 

Crab Apples. 
Red Siberian. — A beautiful tree, and a great bearer. Fruit small, about 
the size of a cherry, growing in clusters; color bright red, when matured; 



262 



FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 



globular form, long and thin stem. Excellent for preserves. Ripe in Sep- 
tember. 

Fig. 137. 




Yellow Siberian. — The tree, its habits and appearance — excepting the 
color of the fruit — is similar to the preceding. The color of the fruit is a 
fine, clear yellow, or a rich golden hue. Rip», in September and October. 

Making Cider. — In order to make good cider, sound fruit only must 
be used, and this should be gathered in dry weather, if possible, after the 
first of October. Let the fruit lay in heaps for some days to sweat and 
ripen ; but be careful not to grind it while damp, and remember that the 
finer the apples are ground, not only will the yield be greater, but the 
quality of the cider will also be proportionally improved. A well-fitted 
mill will crush the seed also, thus imparting a peculiar aromatic-bitter 
taste to the must, which becomes stronger as the cider obtains age. The 
pomace may be allowed to stand from six to twenty-four hours after being 
ground, or it may be pressed at once, according as it is desired to give to 
the cider a pale or a high color. Figure 138 represents Ilicock's patent 
portable cider-mill, by the use of which more work can be done than 
can be effected with much larger stationary mills. 

Fermentation of the Juice. — Cider is capable of three different kinds of 
fermentation : the vinous, which originates the alcohol that imparts to 
the liquor its stimulating and exhilarating qualities; the acid, which 
changes the cider into vinegar ; and the putrid, which destroys it entirely, 
by converting it into a nauseous and poisonous liquid. The principal 
object aimed at in making cider being to stop the fermentation when it 
has progressed to the vinous stage, and before it takes on the acid char- 
acter, the fermentation should be slow, and the temperature of the apart- 
ment never exceed 48° Fahrenheit. To secure this object, pour the liquor, 
after being strained, into large hogsheads, placed on a platform raised 
about six feet from the floor. A faucet should be inserted at the bottom 
of each hogshead, by which, when the fermentation has ceased, and the 
liquor has become clear, it may be drawn off at once into barrels without 
coming in contact with the atmospheric air, which produces the acetous 



i 



FRUITS, FRUIT-TREES, VINES, ETC. 



263 



fermentation. Experienced cider-makers in England say that the acid 
fermentation is progressino; at the same time with the vinous, and that 
the liquor is, from the commencement, absorbing oxygen at the surface. 



Fis. 138. 




To check this, it is recommended to add pulverized charcoal to the liquor 
as it comes from the press, in the proportion of eight pounds to the hogs- 
head. This at first makes the liquor very black, but eventually it becomes 
remarkably fine. 

Preparation of Casks. — As soon as emptied, the casks should be rinsed 
with cold water. If they become sour, and covered with acid scum, a 
pint of unslaked lime must be put into each cask, together with three or 
four gallons of water, the bung-hole closed, and tiie whole well shaken. 



264 



FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 



When cool, rinse them out with cold water, after which pour in about six 
gallons of scalding water, and when every part of the cask is heated, 
pour it off, and turn the cask bung down to dry. When dry, bung up 
the casks, and stow them away carefully for use the following year. 

Fining and Bottling. — Cider should be bottled during the cold weather 
of winter. It may be clarified by adding to the contents of each cask 
one ounce of isinglass in solution, which must be well mixed with the 
cider, and in seven or eight days it will be ready for bottling. Cider 
should never stand on the finings more than ten or twelve days, and, 
when properly fined, it will be clear and transparent — otherwise it is not 
fit for bottling. 

Vinegar. — The best cider vinegar may be made by adding to a cask of 
good cider four pounds of white Havana sugar and half a pound of tartar. 

THE APRICOT. 

Propagation. — The apricot-tree may be raised from the stone, like the 
peach, or by budding, either on its own or plum stocks. 

SoJJ and Situation. — The soil which suits the apricot best is a rich black 
mould, though some recommend a light loam. It thrives better in the 
Middle States than at the North, where, when propagated, it needs shelter. 

VARIETIES. 

Early Apricot. — This variety is round-shaped, little inclined to oblong, 
with a furrow running from the stem to the head ; color bright yellow, with 

Fie. 1.^9. 




a red cheek ; flesh yellowish white, rich, juicy, finely flavored It npens in 
the month of July, which is one of its chief merits. 



FRUITS, FRUIT-TREES, VINES, ETC. 



265 



Large Early. — This is a fine fruit, which also ripens in July. The fruit 
is of medium size, somewhat oblong ; color orange, rather pale ; flesh straw- 
oolor, rich, juicy, easily leaving the stone. An excellent sort 



Fi?. 140. 




Peach. — This is the largest, and by many considered the finest, of all the 
varieties. The form is round, with compressed sides ; color a yellowish 



FiK. 141. 




fewn on the shady side, slightly colored with red towards the sun , flesh 
yellow, sprightly, juicy, and highly flavored. Ripens in August. Fig 140. 
23 



266 farmer's hanb-book. 

Brussels. — The most hardy tree, and, perhaps, the most certain, in our 
climate. It is large, long fruit ; color a pale yellow, with a portion of 
red, and some spots : iiesh a pale yellow, firm, rich, tender, and juicy ; 
clear at the stone ; does not grow mealy ; ripens in July. Fig. 141. 

Eemarks. — Of the other cultivated sorts, the Moorpark and Red Mas- 
culine are the most valuable and popular ; besides these, there are the 
Breda ; Black ; Roman — good for the North ; White Masculine ; Tur- 
key, There are also varieties exclusively ornamental. 

THE BAKBERRT. 
Culture, &c. — But little may be said respecting this well-known shrub, 
which grows spontaneously in this country and in Europe, bearing a 
small acid berry, much used as a pickle and preserve. It is readily 
propagated by seeds and suckers, in a light, rich soil. 

Fig. 142, 




VARIETIES. 
Common JBed.— This is the variety most known, and its appearance 
and habits are too familiar to require any description here. Its color, 
when fully ripe, is a deep scarlet, with a slightly dark tinge. 

THE BLACKBERRY. 
Although the Blackberry grows plentifully in its wild state, yet it is 
now largely cultivated, either by planting the seed in rich soil, and 
manuring freely, or by setting out layers. 

VARIETIES 

The Kittatinny, Lawton and Wilson, are all choice kinds. 



FRUITS, PRUIT-TEEES, VINES, ETC. 267 



Fig. 143. 




Trailing. — This variety is produced on a low shrub, with trailing 
branches. The fruit is large, rouudish-oblong, and ripens in July. The 
best for all purposes. 

High. — This is an erect shrub, growing to the height of eight or ten feet. 
The fruit (Fig. 143) is generally somewhat smaller than the Trailing, 
and, though highly esteemed, is not so rich and highly flavored as the 
first-named. Sometimes raised in gardens. 

^hite. — Not much known — has white fruit. 

Double White Flowering, and Double Pink Flowering. — These are or- 
namental varieties, growing very luxuriantly, and making a splendid 
appearance when trained on walls and fences. Not so common in the 
Northern States as elsewhere. 

THE CHEERY. 

Propagation. — The Cherry-tree is propagated by seeds and by suckers, 
when stems are wanted ; by seeds alone, when new varieties are wanted ; 
by scions, when working on old subjects ; and by buds, when the trees 
are young. If intended for dwarfs, bud the plants at two, and if for 
standards, at four, years of age. The spring succeeding this operation 
is the time for transplanting. 

Soil and Situation. — This tree will grow and thrive in a diversity of 
soils, but prefers a deep loam, in a free exposure. A wet soil is not adapted 
for its healthy growth and bearing ; neither should the soil be too rich, as 
it will then become thrifty in wood, without corresponding fruitfulness. 

VARIETIES. 

Black Heart — also known as Early Black, New May Duke, Ansell'a 
Fine Black, Spanish Black Heart, Black Russian, and Black Caroon — 



268 



farmer's hand-book. 

Fig. 144. 




ia an old and esteemed variety : fruit large, heart-shaped ; color dark purple 
to deep black ; flesh tender, juicy, sweet, well-flavored. Ripens last of June. 
May Duke — also known a.s Earli/ Duke, Holman^s Duke, and June Duke — 
is one of the choicest and most thrifty sorts, and very extensively cultivated. 
The fruit is roundish, growing in clusters ; color red ; flesh soft and juicy, 
rich, and of fine flavor. Ripens in June. 

Fig. 145, 




Bigarreau. — Yellow Spanish, Whife Bigarrenu, White Tartarean, by 
some. Size large to very large, heart-shaped and flattened ; color pale 



FRUITS, FRUIT-TREES, VINES, ETC. 



269 



yellow, or straw, slightly clotted ; flesh yellowish tinge, firm, juit;y, and 
Bweet. Ripens towards the last of June, and is a superior sort. 

American Amber. — Early Amher, and New Honey, by some. Fruit 
medium size, growing in clusters of three or more ; color dark pink, when 
ripe; flesh rich, sweet, amber color. Ripe in June. Fig. 145. 

Elton. — Size quite large, and heart-shaped; tree hardy, with dark red 
footstalks to the leaves ; skin rather thin ; color somewhat variegated, with 
pale straw and red in streaks ; flesh firm, juicy, and sweet ; ripens in June, 
and bears abundantly. Much esteemed. 

Black Eagle. — A foreign sort, very popular in some parts ; size about 
medium ; heart-shaped, somewhat globular ; color purplish-black ; flesh 
tender, juicy, and well-flavored. Ripens in July. 

Ox Heart. — A long, large, heart-shaped cherry, with a dark red skin; 
flesh rich, firm, with a fair flavor. Ripens early in July. 

Black Tartarean. — Also known as Black Russian, RonaWs Large Black 
Heart, and Black Circassian. A large and superior fruit ; heart-shaped ; 
color blackish-purple ; flesh dark, firm, sweet, excellent flavor. Fine 
Dearer, and is ripe about the first of July. 

Downer''s Late. — Fruit large size, oval. Skin smooth, light red ; flesh 
firm, juicy, sweet, and delicious; ripe in early part of July, lasting a con- 
siderable time. Certain and productive bearer. 

Fig. 146. 




Early WJiite Heart. — A very early sort, ripening near the end of May, 
Size rather small, and oblong heart-shaped ; skin waxy white, tinged with 

Fig. 147. 




a pale red ; flesh firm, sweet, and finely flavored • uot so productive as the 
May Duke, and some others 
23* 



270 fakmer's hand-book. 

Remarks. — The other established and standard sorts are the Doctor, 

Belle dc Choisy, Napoleon Bigarreau, White Tartarean, Norello, KnighVs 
Early Black, Florence, Boionton, Manning's Mottled, Holland Bigarreau, 
Elliott's Favorite, Hyde's Seedling, and Kentish. 

The Wild Cherry comprises several varieties, and the best kind being 
the Black, which is ripe in September or October, and is used for various 
medicinal purposes. The Choke Cherry is another kind, bearing a red 
berry, which matures earlier than the first-named. 

THE CRAXBERRT. 

General Cultrue, &c — Comparatively speaking, the cultivation of the 
cranberry has now been reduced to a very certain and well-defined sys- 
tem. It is a native fruit, growing on a low trailing vine, found in bogs, 
meadows, swamps, and other wet lands. The berry is round, red, and 
quite acid, the finest variety being found in this country, where it com- 
naands a high price. 



Fig. 148 




Some persons enumerate three kinds, only one of which, often called 
the Bell, is adapted to a dry soil. It grows wild, on the borders of bogs, 
spreading its way to upland soils, and is much larger than the other 
kinds, in its wild state. Persons engaging in the cultivation of this 
fruit may begin with the Bell ; by commencing with those which have 
been cultivated, or naturalized to a dry soil, they will much sooner 



FRUITS, FRUIT-TREES, VINES, ETC 



271 



accomplish their object, and with much less trouble and expense, as the 
plants multiply and increase abundantly. From one or two thousand plants, 
enough may be obtained, in two or three years, to plant a very large surface 
of ground. 

Select a moist soil, not liable to bake ; loamy soils, which are moderately 
dry, and contain a mixture of sand, are well adapted for the purpose. The 
soil should be prepared by ploughing, harrowing, and making it even, and 
should be marked out in drills eiglneen or twenty inches apart, putting 
the plants in the diills about six inches apart ; hoe them slightly, till the 
roots become clinched, when further cultivation is unnecessary. In two or 
three years the plants may be expected to run together and cover the whole 
soil. It will yield from one hundred and fifty to four hundred bushels per 
acre, the size being two or three times as large as the wild, and of a superior 
flaTor, and keeps sound from the harvest of one year to that of the next. 
The fruit is generally gathered in September, with wire-tooth rakes made 

Fig. 149. 




for the purpose (Fig. 149). One man may gather from thirty to forty 
bushels per day, with the aid of a boy to pick up the scattered fruit. 

The roots may be planted either in spring or fall ; the former from the 
time when the ground can be worked till the middle of May, and the latter 
in October and November. 

In some places, low and coarse meadows, of no value, have been drained 
and planted with the cranberry, and are thus made very profitable. After 



272 



FARMER S HAND-BOOK. 



draining the land well, and removing all brush and shrubs, the soil is 
ploughed, though it is usually sufficient to cover the surface with a heavy 
top-dressing of sandy soil, and then make holes four feet apart, into which 
Ihe sods, or square bunches of the cranberry-roots, are planted. Some 
cjranberry-growers think it expedient to flow such lands, the water being let 
on about the 20th of October, and remain till the 20th of May, or till the 
frosts have disappeared, in order that the blossoms may not be cut off in the 
spring, by appearing too early. 

To keep Cranberries. — When the fruit is to be exported, it is put, in a 
perfect state, into tight barrels, filled with water, and headed up, by which 
means they are kept sound and good. 

F\s. 150. 




THE CURRANT. 

Propagation. — The best method of propagation is by cuttings, — the 



FRUITS, FRUIT-TREES, VINES, ETC. 



273 



shoots of the last summer's production, of straight, clean growth, shorten- 
ing each from about ten to twelve or fifteen inches long, according to ita 
strength. 

Plant in rows about two feet asunder, and about nine inches apart in the 
rows ; let no limbs grow nearer than six inches to the ground ; prune every 
year, giving free access to the sun. To cultivate on an extensive scale, set 



Fig. 151. 




274 farmer's hand-book. 

the bushes in rows, six or eight feet between each bush, with intervals of 
proper width for passing across the rows. 

Soil and Situation. — A strong, rich, deep loam brings the fruit to its 
highest state of perfection, but it will thrive in a much poorer soil. 



Ped Dutch, — also known as Morgan's Red, and Red Grape, — is a large- 
eized currant ; color red ; rather mild flavor ; grows in long clusters. 

White Dutch. — While Leghorn, White Crystal, Morgan'' s White, Reeve'' s 
White, by some. Size large ; skin slightly yellowish ; flavor mild ; quite 
hardy. A variety much esteemed for the dessert. Fig. 150. 

Black Naples. — This is considered the best of the black varieties, being 
larger and more prolific. It is not so well suited to a southern clime. 

Champagne. — A pale-red fruit, large, and quite acid. Not of superior 
quality. 

Maifs Victoria. — This is a newly-introduced sort, bearing a large berry, 
of a brilliant red color. The flavor is very superior, and the bush is very 
productive. By many persons it is esteemed the best of all the colored 
kinds. Fig. 151. 

Remarks. — The other notable varieties are Kriight^s Early Red, Com- 
mon Black, and Striped Fruited. The varieties described above are, how- 
ever, the best. 

THE GOOSEBERRY. 

Propagation. — The mode by cuttings is usually adopted for continuing 
varieties, and that by seeds for procuring new ones. Plant the cuttings in 
autumn. 

Soil and Situation. — Any good garden-soil, on a dry bottom and well 
manured, will suit the gooseberry ; that which is soft and moist producing 
the largest fruit. The situation should not be under the drip of trees over- 
much shaded or confined, otherwise the fruit will be small, ill-flavored, and 
the plants apt to mildew. Keep well pruned. 



Capper''s Top Sarvyer. — A. large, round, hairy fruit ; branches somewhat 
drooping ; ripens somewhat late ; considered very fine. 

Melling''s Crown Bob. — Berry of large size, oblong, bright red, hairy, 
good flavor, rather late. It is highly recommended by growers, as an excel- 
lent sort, and profitable to cultivate in gardens or elsewhere. Fig. 152. 



FRUITS, FRUIT-TREES, VINES, ETC. 27f 

Fig. 152. 




Houghton's Seedling. — This variety is said not to mildew under any 
dicumstances. It grows very thrifty, and bears abundantly, though the 

Fig. 153. 




berry is not so large size as some others ; flesh soft and sweet ; skin deli- 
cate; color dark. A very superior sort, if not the very best. Fig. 153. 

Woodward's Whitesmith. — Large, white, roundish, erect branches, fine 
flavor ; considered an excellent kind. 

Coleworth's White Lion. — White, roundish-oblong, downy ; ripens late ; 
excellent flavor, branches drooping, good bearer. 

O-ompton's Sheba Queen. — Fruit good size, rather early ; form roundish- 
oblong ; downy ; good flavor. 

Early Green Hairy. — Fruit small, round, and hairy ; deep green ; flavor 
excellent ; ripens quite early. 

Red Warrington. — Fruit large and roundish; excellent flavor. 

Remarks. — Farrow^ s Roaring Lion, Parkinson's Laurel, Keene's Seed- 
ling, Early Sulphur, Yellow Ball, Early White, White Honey, Pitmaston 
Green Gage, Old Rough Red, Hill's Golden Gourd, Prophet's Rockwood^ 
IiRxon^s Green Myrtle, and Wellington's Glory, are also well-known sorts. 



276 farmer's hand-book. 



THE GRAPE. 



Propagation. — Vines are propagated in the open ground by layers and 
by cuttings. The former is the readier mode, if the shoots be laid down in 
pots, and planted out in summer. The latter mode is much the better. To 
provide cuttings to be planted at the proper season, select, at the autumnal 
pruning, a sufficient number of shoots of the preceding summer's growth, 
such as are well ripened, of a medium size, and moderately short-jointed. 
Cut them into convenient lengths of six or eight buds each, leaving at 
the ends not less tlian a couple of inches of the blank wood for the protec- 
tion of the terminal buds. Stick these temporary cuttings about nine inches 
in the ground, in a warm and sheltered situation, where they will be pro- 
tected from the severity of winter. The best time to plant them out is about 
the last of March, or fore part of April. 

Soil and Situation. — A light, porous, rich, sandy loam, not more than 
eighteen inches deep, on a dry bottom of gravel, stones or rocks, is the best. 
The warmer the aspect, the greater perfection does the grape usually attain. 
Warmth alone is not, however, sufficient ; shelter from the withering in- 
fluence of the wind is equally necessary. 

Culture., <SfC. — Manure composed of bones, whole or crushed, the horns 
and hoofs of 2-imals, as well as their carcasses, cuttings of leather, woollen 
rags, feathers, hair, urine, blood, — indeed, almost every variety of manure 
may be used to fertilize and enrich the soil occupied by the vine. If very 
rich manures are used, they should be mixed with turf and sand, otherwise 
so much benefit does not accrue. 

Pruning. — In pruning the vine, always cut upwards, and in a sloping 
direction ; always leave an inch of blank wood between the terminal bud, 
and let the eye be cut on the opposite side of the bud ; leave as few wounds 
as possible, and let the surface of every cut be perfectly smooth. In cutting 
out an old branch, prune it even with the parent limb, that the wound may 
heal quickly ; prune so as to obtain the quantity of fruit desired on the 
smallest number of shoots possible ; never prune in frosty weather, nor when 
frost is expected ; never prune in the spring, as this causes bleeding, and 
therefore a wasteful and injurious flow of sap ; prune as soon after the first 
of October as the gathering of the fruit will permit. 

Training. — To train a vine on the surface of a wall is to regulate the 
position of its branches, the principal objects of which are, to protect them 
from the influence of the wind ; to bring them into close contact with the wall, 
for the purpose of receiving the benefit of its warmth ; to spread them at 
proper distances from each other, that the foliage and fruit may receive the 
full effects of the sun's rays ; and to retard the motion of the sap, so as to 



FRUITS, FRUIT-TREES, VINES, ETC. 



277 



riecure the formation of fruit-buds. The flow of sap, it must be rememboredj 
is always strongest in a vertical direction, and weakest in a downward one ; 
CD this account, serpentine training is preferable, being calculated to check 
the too rapid ascent of the sap, and to make it flow more equally into the 
frui ting-shoots, and those intended for future bearers. 

VARIETIES. 

Black Hamburgh. — A well-known variety, but more adapted to thevmery 
than for out-of-door culture. The bunches are quite large size ; berries 

Fig. 154. 




large, roundish, slightly oval ; skin thick, deep purple or nearly black ; 
flavor rich and sweet. A productive and valuable sort. 

Miller'' s Burgundy. — A very hardy and fruitful grape, very popular, and 
extensively grown. Its leaves are very thick, covered on both sides with a 
thick down. The bunches are small, but solid ; skin thick, of a blue-black 
color ; flesh tender, juicy, and pleasant. 

Fig. 155. 




Muscat of Alexandria. — There are the White and the Red Muscat, the 
ionner (a) being large in the berry, of oval size, and fruiting in long, large 
24 



278 



FARMER S HAND-BOOK. 



bunches ; the skin is thick ; flesh firm, juicy, musky flavor, very agreeable 
eating ; hangs a long time on the branches. The Red resembles the White, 
except in color (b). Ripens finely on walls. Fig. 155. 

Catawba. — This is a native sort, highly esteemed. It is hardy, vigorous, 
and productive ; large bunches ; color deep purple and palish-red ; thick 

Fig. 156. 




skin ; pulp sweet, rich, finely flavored. Ripens first part of October. Supe- 
rior fijr wine, or eating, and succeeds well in any tolerably fair situation. 

Isabella. — A hardy plant, very productive, and, in this country, almost 
universally grown. Bunches large, rather loose ; berries fair size, oval ; 

Fig. 167. 




skin thick, purplish black ; flesh soft to firm, juicy, sweet, aromatic. A 
most valuable variety, rather late at the North, but seasonable in the Middle 
and Western States. 

Alexander. — Known also as the Schuylkill Muscadel. A certain and pro- 
lific bearer ; large, bluish-black berry ; oval ; skin thick ; flesh firm, sweet, 
musky flavor. Not so thrifty at the North as the two previous sorts. 

Scuppemong. — Distinguished by its diminutive leaves ; grows wild m 
some parts of the United States, and is in considerable use as a wine fruit, 
for which purpose it is esteemed one of the best. The White and the Blaik 
are scarcely dissimilar in any particular, except their respective colors. 
The bunches are rather small ; berries large, pretty round ; thick skin ; 
flesh sweet and juicy, with a musky taste and flavor. 

Remarks. — There are numerous other varieties worthy of an extended 



FEUITS, FRUIT-TREES, VINES, ETC. 



279 



notice, on account of their peculiar adaptedness to particular sections, 
and their distinctive uses, such as the Royal Muscadine, Early Black July, 
Black Prince, Bland, Ohio, I^enoir, Diana, Winnie, Clinton, Cunningham, 
Warren's Madeira, Elsinburgh. Norton's Virginia, WJiite Sweetwater, Black 
Sweetwater, Black, Grizzly, White Frontignan, and Missouri. 

Vineyards. — The making of wine having now become an important 
branch of agricultural industry, a short sketch of the mode of laying 
out and cultivating a vineyard, gathering the grapes, making and fining 
the wines, etc. may not be here out of place. The best preparation for 




* a vineyard is to dig the ground up to the depth of three feet during the 
autumn previous to planting the vines. In spring lay it off into hills 
distant from each other six feet in one direction, and five feet in the other, 
and in each hill plant two cuttings, to guard against the possibility of 
one failing to grow. If both cuttings sprout, one of them may either be 
cut off, or transplanted. 

Culture. — During the Jirst year the labors of the vine-dresser are con- 
fined to hoeing the ground, and removing the weeds, as well as all super- 
fluouB shoots. The following spring the young vines are cut down to a 



280 FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 

single eye or joint, and trained to stakes, which are made of locust oi 
oak, and six or seven feet in length. One of these is driven into the earth 
close to each vine, which is fastened to it with a wisp of straw. All the 
suckers are trimmed off, and the ground kept clear and well loosened. 
The second spring after planting the vines are cut down to three eyes or 
joints, but the general cultivation is the same as during the first year. 
If any of the sets have not taken root, they are replaced by new ones. 
The third year the vines are cut down to four or five joints, all the suckera 
trimmed off, the vines tied up, and hoed thoroughly. Two shoots are 
trained to each stake. The vines commence to bear during the third 
year, and thereafter are pruned and trained every year, during the month 
of December. The standard stalk is established during the fourth year, 
by cutting down the best shoot of the preceding year to six or eight joints, 
bending it over in the form of a bow, and fastening it to the stake with 
willow ties. This is called the bearing-wood. The other shoot is cut 
down to a spur of two or three eyes, and forms a reserve of bearing-wood 
for the following season. Each succeeding year the old bearing-wood i8 
pruned away, and a new arch formed with the best shoot of the new wood 
— a spur being left, as before, to furnish bearing-wood for the next ye.ar. 
The original stalk being thus always kept about two feet high, the vine 
is always within control; and, as the vines extend, they are trained from 
Btake to stake, until the fruit has nearly ripened, when the green ends are 
excised. During each summer the ground is hoed two or three times, 
and kept scrupulously clean ; and every third year the land is trenched, 
and two or three inches of well-rotted manure turned in. 

Pressing the Grapes. — The grapes are never gathered until the saccha- 
rine principle is fully developed. This fact is ascertained by testing some 
of the juice with a saccharometer. An ordinary portable cider-mill 
answers very well for small crops ; but where grapes are extensively 
grown, a press adapted to this use is usually supplied. The grapes are 
well pressed, to extract all the juice ; for that which flows first contains 
but little mucose-saccharine matter, without which the liquor does not fer- 
ment freely. That substance is chiefly present in the insoluble, organized 
parts and the skins, which also contain most of the acid, the resinous 
extractive, and the coloring principle. Some growers let the mashed 
grapes stand for twenty-four hours in open hogsheads, and do not press 
them until they ferment, and the grapes rise to the surfxce of the liquor. 
A slight fermentation in the skins is said to improve the color and aroma 
of the wine ; but too protracted fermentation is regarded as injurious, by 
giving it a bitter, astringent taste. 

Making Wine. — After the grapes are pressed, and the juice or 7nusi 



FRUITS, FRUIT-TREES, VINES, ETC. 281 

extracted, the latter ia exposed to a temperature of 65° Fahr., when fer- 
mentation commences. The liquor is agitated by an intestine motion, 
and bubbles are evolved, which buoy up the grosser matter, inci'ease the 
bulk of the mass, and form a scum upon the surfoce. An increase of 
temperature then takes place, and the must, losing its saccharine taste, 
acquires a deeper color than before, together with a vinous flavor, which 
increases with the progress of the fermentation. When the fermentation 
has subsided, which generally occurs in a few days, the mass returns to 
its original bulk, the scum sinks to the bottom of the vessel, the liquor 
becomes transparent, and is changed into wine. The constitution of the 
must is liable to be greatly influenced by the culture of the grapes, their 
variety and quality, and by the peculiarities of the climate in which they 
are grown, as well as by the nature of the season. A cold year so much 
diminishes the yield of saccharine matter, as to render the wine weak, 
harsh, and ascescent ; and a wet season diminishes the quantity of alco- 
hol. High winds and fogs are also injurious. When the wine has set- 
tled, it is drawn ofl" into casks, in which it undergoes further changes. 
It is then racked ofi" into other casks, in which it is subjected to the ope- 
ration of sulphurizing — sulphur matches being burned in the casks, to 
render the glutinous matter incapable of re-exciting fermentation. The 
wine is then fined ; that is, deprived of those matters which render it 
turbid, and dispose it to changes of a deteriorating nature. Either isin- 
glass or white of egg is used for this purpose. The first unites with the 
tannic acid in the wine, and the second with the alcohol, forming reticu- 
lated coagula, which envelop and throw down those solid particles which 
endanger the safety of the wine. When the wine again clears, it is ready 
for use, or for bottling, which is the best mode of keeping it. The bot- 
tles are corked tight, covered with sealing-wax, and laid on their sides in 
tiers. If sparkling wines are desired, the uld and new vintages are 
mixed together in equal proportions. The cold weather of the winter 
months are best suited for fining wines, as at that time they deposit most 
of the matter previously held in suspension. Wines left in the wood are 
liable to become sour by alternations of temperature. 

Champagne Wine. — The following is the process for making this highly- 
prized wine. After being pressed out the juice is allowed to ferment in 
casks for a few days. When fermentation ceases the wine has a vapid 
and disagreeable taste. It is then fined to as great a degree of bright- 
ness as can be secured before the commencement of the bottling season, 
which is usually in March. After bottling, a second fermentation ia 
induced by putting into each bottle a small glassful of "liqueur" (sugar- 
candy dissolved in wine, and fined to brightness). However bright the 
24* 



282 FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 

wine may be when bottled, this fermentation produces a fresh deposit of 
sediment, or lees. This process requires the greatest attention, the bot- 
tles being closely watched, and the temperature of the air regulated to 
the point necessary to check or promote fermentation. When the wine 
begins to deposit a sediment, the bottles are placed, necks downward, in 
long beds or shelves, pierced with oblique holes. Every day each bottle 
is raised, gently vibrated, and again replaced in a position slightly ver- 
tical. By this method the sediment is detached from the side of the bot- 
tle, and allowed to pass toward the neck Finally the bottles are placed 
in an upright position, and the sediment, being then entirely deposited 
in the necks, is ready for " disgorging." To effect this purpose the bot- 
tles are held mouths downward before a recess, and the wires confining 
the corks cut, when the contained gases drive out the corks, and with 
them the foul sediment. The skill of the operator is evinced by his pre- 
serving all the pure wine, and parting with nothing but the foul liquor. 
The bottles are then refilled from wine previously purified, re-corked, and 
again stacked. When the wine is prepared for sale, a second disgorge- 
ment is always necessary, and sometimes a tliird. When ready, the wine 
gets another dose of " liqueur," composed of very pure candy dissolved 
in white wine for ordinary champagne, and red wine for the pink. This 
gives it an exquisite sweetness, and adds to its sparkling qualities when 
opened. The quantity put into each bottle depends on the market for 
which it is intended, but it is usually a good wineglassful. 

Constituents of Wine. — These are: 1. Odoriferous principle, which is 
due to the presence of a volatile oil. 2. Alcohol. This exists in all wines: 
those containing it in small quantity are called light wines; the others 
are known as strong wines. 3. Free Acids. Wines contain malic, citric, 
and tartaric acids. The effervescent wines, such as champagne, which 
are bottled before fermentation is completed, owe their peculiar proper- 
ties to the retention, and subsequent escape when the confining force is 
removed, of the developed carbonic acid gas. They are apt to become 
ropy, which is prevented by the addition of pure tannic acid, or nut-galls 
in powder. The tannic acid of some wines, especially that of the red 
wines, as port, is derived in great part from tlie husk of the grape, but 
partly from the seeds. 4. Sugar. This varies greatly in different wines ; 
those containing it most abundantly being denominated sweet wines. 5. 
Extractive. This exists in all wines, but diminishes with age. 6. Coloring 
matter. When the husks are separated from the liquor before fermenta- 
tion, the wine is pale, and is then called white wine ; but when fermen- 
tation takes place before the removal of the husks, the wine acquires a 
dark hue, and is then known as red wine. The purple coloring matter^ 



FRUITS, -FRUIT-TREES, VINES, ETC. 283 

which resides in the husks, is dissolved out by the newly-formed alcohol, 
and reddened by the free acid. 7. Tartar. This substance is deposited 
biith in the cask and in the bottles, constituting argol and crust. The 
deposition increases with the formation of alcohol, and red wines contain 
a greater quantity than white wines. 

' THE MEDLAR. 

Propagation. — It is raised by grafting, by layers, also by seed, planted 
while fresh, and in the fall. The seed does not germinate for some time ; 
the layers will root in autumn : the pear is the best stock upon which 
to graft. Tree low ; fruit round, size of a plum ; pulp thick, with five 
stones. 

Soil and Situation. — Any common soil will answer, but a well-drained, 
retentive loam, suits it best. Gatlier the fruit in November, and spread 
singly upon sand. 

VARIETIES. 

Blake's Large. — A variety not very frequent, though by some thought 
one of the best. 

German or Dutch. — The tree is very irregular, dwarfed ; fruit large, 
and, all things considered, the best of all the sorts. 

Nottingliam. — This is small-sized, and of a quick, pungent flavor. 

Stoneless. — Not so good quality, but maybe preserved better than the 
other kinds. 

THE MELON. 

Propagation, <^c. — Propagated by seeds, planted in shallow hills, five or 
six feet apart each way. From six to ten seeds in a hill will suffice, and 
the soil which covers them should be about half an inch deep. When up, 
thill the plants to two or three in a hill, and draw the earth up to them. 
Hoe, and keep free from weeds. 

Soil and Situation. — Melons require a warm, dry, rich soil, with a small 
quantity of manure in each hill. They are easily raised in almost every 
part of the country, though they flourish better in the Middle and Southern 
States than further north. 

VARIETIES. 

Water-melon. — The sub-varieties of this sort are the Imperial, Carolina^ 
New Jersey and Spanish ; also, the Citron. These are well-known kinds, 
and are extensively grown. By many they are considered as forming a dis* 



284 



farmer's hand-book. 



tinct species of fruit, of themselves. The first-named is a productive sort, 
nearly round ; color palish-green, and white ; flesh pink, rich, pleasant 
The Carolina (Fig. 159) is a very popular variety ; large size ; oblong ; 
color green and white ; flesh red ; sweet, agreeable flavor. 




Musk-melon. — A delicious fruit, a native of Persia. The varieties are 
numerous, easily propagated from seeds. The principal sorts are the Keising, 
an egg-shaped, light straw color, highly flavored variety ; Green Hoosainee, 
a superior and prolific sort ; Large Gcrmek, round, sea-green colored, richly 
flavored, and productive ; Early Cantelewp, ripens early and bears well, 
rather small-sized, thin skin, orange-colored flesh, juicy, and of good flavor; 
Nutmeg, green-fleshed, large, roundish oval, tender, sweet, pleasant flavor. 
Besides these, the Green Citron, Palermo, OroYige Canteleup, Black Rock, 
and Sweet Ispahan, are good kinds, worthy of cultivation. 



THE MULBKRRY. 

Propagation. — It may be propagated by seed, sown in a warm border, 
but this mode is rarely pursued ; by layers — lateral shoots obtained by 
heading down the tree near to the ground ; by cuttings, having two thirds 
of their length old wood, and one third yearling; or by lopping oflf a straight 
branch, eight feet long, from a large tree, — the nearer the trunk ihe 
better. Make it clear of every little stem, then dig a hole four feet deep, 
plant the naked branch firmly in the ground, leaving around it a cavity to 
hold water, when the season is dry. In two years it will bear fruit. 

Soil and Situation. — It prefers a moist, deep, loamy soil, and a some 
what free exposure to the south. The soil should not be cold, or wet, and 
should be well drained. It may be trained against a wall, but this requirea 
much space. 



FRUITS, FRUIT-TREES, VINES, ETC. 285 



VARIETIES. 

Red. — This is a common variety, growing wild in the United States. 
Tlie fruit is of a deep-red color, and of excellent flavor. 
Black. — This variety hails from Asia Minor, but thrives in a northern 

Fig. 160. 




climate. The berry is large and long, black, and of a rich aromatic taste. 
It is used in making wine, or cider, mixed with apples. 

Remarks. — The Johnson is a new variety, and it bids fair to sustain the 
high character given it by Professor Kirtland. Fruit large, oblong, of a 
mild and pleasant flavor. Of tlie White Mulberry there are several sorts ; 
not, however, so valuable for their fruit as for silk. 

THE NECTARINE. 

Remarks. — The nectarine is not uncommonly classed with the peach, 
as a distinct variety, the peculiarities consisting in the fruit being smooth 
and naked, without fur or down, and the flesh being firmer. There is no 
doubt of their identity, as the seed of the peach sometimes produces the nec- 
tarine, and vice versa. It is propagated and grown the same as the peach 
(which see). 

VARIETIES. 

Boston. — Also known as Lewis's and Perkins's Seedling. Originated in 
Boston, where it was raised from a peach-stone. The fruit is very hand- 
some, of medium size, and heart-shaped ; color bright yellow and red ; 
flesh firm, sweet, pleasant. One of the best varieties for general cultiva- 
tion. 

Red Roman. — One of the most hardy. It is a large, handsome, red 
• 



286 



FAPMERS HAND-BOOK. 



clingy-stone ; color dark next the sun, the shaded side yellow ; flesh juicy, 
Bweet, and viuous. Ripe in August and September. A good bearer. 

Fig. 161. 




Jaune Idsse, or Roussanne. — A small, round fruit ; skin yellow, a little 
spotted with red towards the sun ; skin smooth ; flesh yellow, firm, sweet, 
highly flavored. Ripens in September and October. Fig. 161. 

Fig. 162. 




Elruge. — A fine fruit, very popular. Medium size ; roundish ; palcv 
green, deep-red next the sun ; flesh palish-white, tender, juicy ; ripe in 
September. 



fRUITS, FRUIT-TREES, VINES, ETC. 287 

Larly F/o/e<. -^ • Medium size ; green, and purplish red; flesh pale yel' 
low, and pinkish ; soft, rich, sweet, agreeable flavor. Ripe last of August. 
Good bearer ; very superior. ' 

Musk Violet. — This fruit is of la^ge size ; color a yellowish-white, a 
fine red violet towards the sun, with whiii?h spots ; flesh yellowish-white, 
firm, vinous, sweet and musky. Ripe in September. Fig. 162. 

Remarks. — Hunt's Tawney, Downton, New White, Broomfield, PitmaS' 
ton's Orange, and Due du Tellier's, are recommended to growers. 

THE PEACH. 

Propagation. — It may be propagated by planting the stone in the fall, 
at a depth of two or three inches, and in one or two years they will be of 
sufficient size to transplant. A common way of increasing them is by bud- 
ding on the plum stock or the bitter almond ; usually inoculated on the 
peach stock. Plant from ten to twelve feet apart, and the land may be cul- 
tivated with manured crops of com, potatoes, vines, or pulse. 

Soil and Situation. — A rich, sandy loam is the best, — a natural or arti- 
ficial soil of this description. It is best not to manure much, except when 
the land is also occupied by other crops, like those just mentioned. 

Culture, dSfC. — When transplanted, they should not be very large, — 
generally not more than two years' growth. Good varieties are obtained by 
budding ; grafting is thought, on the whole, to be hardly of much benefit. 

VARIETIES. 

Early York. — One of the earliest and most generally cultivated varieties. 
Size medium, roundish, slightly oval ; skin thin, somewhat dotted ; color 
red ; flesh greenish-white, tender, rich, lively flavor. Ripens middle or 
'ast of August. 

Red Cheek Melocoton. — A large yellow clear-stone, with a red cheek ; 
flesh rich and juicy ; ripens in September, — sometimes earlier. 

Gross Mignonne. — A large, round peach, flattened at the ends, divided 
by a deep furrow into unequal parts ; the stem small, a small point at the 
blossom end ; skin covered with a thin fine down , color a clear green, 
approaching to yellow, deep brownish-red towards the sun ; flesh fine, melt- 
ing, juicy, delicate and white, tinged with red near the stone ; the juice is 
sweet, vinous and sprightly. Ripens in August. Fig. 163. 

George the Fourth. — Medium size, globular form; color pale yellow 
and dark red ; flesh melting, rich, superior flavor. Ripens in September. 

Coolidge's Favorite. — Fruit large and roundish; skin smooth, white, 
• 



288 



farmer's hand-book. 



with red towards the sun ; flesh tender, juicy, sweet, finely flavored. Hardy, 
and a good bearer, ripening early in September. Much thought of. 




Alberge. — Size medium ; yellow skin, with dark red cheek ; flesh yel« 
iow, tinged with red, melting, rich, sweet, and vinous flavor. It is deeply 



Fig. 164. 




indented by a seam running from the stem to the blossom end. Ripens last 
of August. 



FRUITS, FRUIT-TREES, VINES, ETC. 



289 



Bergen's Yelloiv. — Large size, round, slightly depressed ; color red and 
orange, dotted ; flesh yellow, tender, rich and luscious ; good bearer, and 
ripens first of October. A valuable sort. 

Morris White. — Fruit large, round or oval; color white, greenish, 
slight purple tinge ; flesh white, tender, rich, and sweet. Ripe middle of 
September. 

Oldmixon Freestone. — A beautiful, large, flat peach, with a white skin 
and red cheek ; flesh rich, juicy, luscious. Ripe in August. 

Red Magdalen. — Medium size ; round, flat next to the stem ; color a fine 



Fig. 165. 




red towards the sun ; flesh white, reddish near the stone, sweet and sprightly. 
Ripens in September. Hardy and productive. 

Craivford's Late. — Fruit large, round, and handsome; yellow in the 
shade, deep red towards the sun ; flesh yellow, reddish near the stone, 
'uicy, tender, rich, finely flavored. Ripens about the last of September or 
first of October. 

Red Rareripe. — An excellent fruit, frequently called Morris's Red Rare- 
ripe ; size quite large, round ; color red and white ; flesh tender, rich, 
melting, highly flavored. Ripens in August. 

Yel/oio Rareripe. — Size large, globular ; color yellow, and purplish red ; 
flesh yellow, red near the stone ; tender, juicy, vinous flavor. Ripens in 
September. 

Noblesse. — A large and handsome clingstone ; skin white, with a pale 
blush, and some dark brownish spots; flesh rich and highly flavored. 
Ripens in SeptenjbeT. 

2o T 



290 



FARMER S HAND-BOOK. 



Ijemon Freestone. — A pale yellow, whitish fruit ; medium size ; flesh 
juicy, tender, melting, and highly flavored. Ripens in September. 

Monstrous Cling. — A large, roundish-oval fruit; color palish-yellow, 
with deep red tinge ; flesh solid, juicy, and sweet. Ripens in October. 

Late Heath. — Large, oblong, terminating in a point at the head ; color 
rich cream-colored white, sometimes faintly blushed ; flesh rich, tender, 




juicy, and melting. Hardy, and ripens in September, lasting into Noveni' 
ber. 

Early Tillotson. — A medium size, round fruit ; color yellowish ^vhito, 
red, with dots; flesh white, red near the stone, juicy, melting, excellent 
flavor. 

Remarks. — The varieties, besides those mentioned above, worthy to be 
recommended for general cultivation, are the Jaques. White Imperial, Pres- 
ident, Late Admirable, Ward\s Late Free, Golden Ball, Hyslop^s Cling, Old 
Newington, Malta, Nutmeg, Belle de Vitry, Incomparable, Catharine, Chau' 
cellar, and Late Purple. 



FRUITS, FRUIT-TREES, VINES, ETC. 291 



THE PEAR. 

Propagation. — The pear may be propagated by layers or suckers, but 
not so readily by cuttings. These modes, however, are productive of very 
indifferent plants, and are usually rejected in favor of raising from seed, and 
grafting or budding; by seed, either for the purpose of obtaining new va- 
rieties, or to produce pear stocks. But, as the varieties of the pear do not 
reproduce themselves from the seed, and seedlings are slow in giving their 
fruit, the pear is principally grown by scions and buds. These are placed 
on pear or quince stalks, according as taste or interest may invite to early 
and small crops, of fine quality, or to later and more abundant ones, of infe- 
rior character. In the former case, the stem of the quince is advantageously 
employed, and in the latter, that of the common pear, and without any ma- 
terial difference in the operation, excepting that the feebler the stem, the 
nearer to the earth should be placed the scion or bud. 

The second year after budding or grafting, the plants may be removed to 
the places where it is intended they shall stand. 

Soil and Situation. — Though the pear-tree may be made to grow almost 
anywhere, still it succeeds poorly on the north sides of hills, or in stiff, dry 
soils, and still worse on those having a wet subsoil. Some of the later and 
finer varieties require a deep, substantial loam, occasionally refreshed with 
a dressing of well-rotted dung ; and some of the best aspects the garden can 
furnish are also desirable. 

Culture, dfC. — Cultivated as standards and pyramids, the young trees 
should be left, in a great degree, to regulate their own shape. To produce 
a well-balanced tree, shorten the wood of the deficient side, and leave the 
other to itself. Trees of other forms, and intended for walls and espaliers, 
require more labor and management, and a degree of both summer and 
winter pruning ; the former of which consists in rubbing off all foreright, 
ill-placed, spongy shoots, before they become hard, while the latter consista 
in sparing all such well-placed and thrifty laterals as may be necessary for 
preserving the form given to the head of the tree, and cutting away all 
others close to the branch from which they grow. If the older wood be 
diseased or redundant, cut it away also, or shorten it down to some healthy 
and promising shoot. 

When an old tree becomes unproductive, either cut down within about 
two feet from the ground, and train up anew some selected shoots which 
may have pushed from the stump, or take off at its base every branch which 
does not want at least twenty degrees of being perpendicular, and all spurs 
from such other branches as by this rule will be left. Into these retained 
branches, at their subdivisions, and at different distances from their bases, 



292 



farmer's hand-book. 



quite to their extremities, grafts must be carefully inserted, which, when 
about twelve inches long, must be trained downwards between the branches. 

VARIETIES- 

Bartlett. — One of the most valued sorts, and grown in almost every part 
of the country. Fruit large, pyramidal ; color yellowish at maturity, thin, 




and smooth ; flesh wnite, delicate, buttery, sweet, juicy, highly flavored. 
Hardy, productive, keeps well, ripens in October. It stands about number 
one among all the pear-tribe. 

Madeleine. — Medium size ; pale yellow, sometimes with a blush towards 
the sun ; form obovate, tapering to the stalk ; flesh white, tender, juicy, 
refined flavor ; one of the best and earliest pears ; hardy, and a good bearer. 

Dearhorn^s Seedling. — A valuable early sort ; small, symmetrical ; 
color light yellow, with a few dots ; flesh white, tender, sweet, and sprightly 
flavor. Is quite productive, early, ripening from the middle to last of 
August. 

Winter Nelis. — A fine winter variety ; size rather above medium ; 
roundish-obovate ; color pale straw, slightly brown ; flesh white, soft, 
sugary, rich, mus';y-flavored ; ripe in December ; not very productive, but 
excellent. Fig. 168. 



FKUITS, FRUIT-TREES, VINES, ETC. 
Fig. 168. 



293 




294 farmer's hand-boor- 

Seckel. — Size generally small ; form regular, round at the blossom end, 
contracting gradually towards the stem ; color sometimes yellow, with a 
bright red cheek, and at other times a <iomplete russet, without any blush ; 
flesh melting, juicy, exquisitely flavored. Ripe in Sept. and Oct. Fig. 169. 

Tyson. — A medium-sized fruit ; color light straw, with brownish blotches ; 
flesh lightish-white, rich, sweet, fragrant ; ripens in September. 

Beurre Bosc. — Fruit large and long ; color light cinnamon russet ; flesh 




white, rich, tender, delicious. A moderately productive variety, ripening 
in October and November. Fig. 170. 



FRUITS, FRUIT-TREES, VINES, ETC. 



295 



Bloodgood. — Large size; form oval; color dull yellow, with darkish 
spots ; flesh soft, melting, agreeable flavor ; early and prolific. Ripens in 
August. 

Flemish Beauty. — Fine large fruit ; color dull yellow and brownish : 
flesh yellowish tinge, sweet, tender, juicy, sugary, musky flavor. Ripe in 
October. One of the best sorts, though not so much cultivated as it deserves. 

Golden Beurre of Bilboa. — Medium size, oblong, roundish at the crown 
contracted towards the summit ; color light yellow, with russet spots ; flesh 
tender, melting, rich, excellent flavor. Ripens in October, and very fruitful. 

Summer Frank Real. — Medium size, obovate, thickest in the middle ; 
color light yellow, with brownish-green dots; flesh melting, rich, fine- 
grained, sweet, and of superior flavor. Ripens in September ; hardy ; 
fruitful. 

Muscadine. — Medium size, roundish, symmetrical ; color yellowish-green, 
with dots of brown ; flesh white, buttery, rich, musky flavor. Ripens in 

Fig. 171. 




September, bearing abundantly, and is altogether a very valuable sort. 



296 farmer's hand-book. 

Remarks. — There are many other varieties which might be strong-ly 
recommended, but we can only give the names, without attempting to give a 
full description. Among the Summer, or early sorts, worthy of being no- 
ticed, are the Summer Me/ting, Stevens's Genesee, Honey, Jargonelle, Beurre 
iTAmmdis, and the Rousselet de Rheims; of the Autumn sorts, among the 
best are the Belle Lucrative, Marie Louise, Swans Egg, Cushing, Frederic 
of Wurtcmburg, Fulton, Saint Michael, Bleeker's Meadow, and Belle ei Bonne; 
of the Winter sorts, the most desirable are the Colmar, Columbia, Vergou- 
leuse. Pound, St. Germaine, Glout Merceau, Easter Beurre, Beurre Diel, and 
Passe Colmar. 

THE PLUM. 

Propagation. — The plum, like other stone-fruit, is mostly propagated by 
budding, the stocks being the free-growing plum, either raised from seed, 
or, more commonly, from layers or suckers. 

Soil and Situation. — The plum naturally does not grow in so light a 
soil as the cherry, nor in so clayey a soil as the apple ; and in a state of 
culture, a medium soil, on a dry subsoil, is found to be the best. Only the 
finer kinds are planted against walls. 

Culture, <5j-c. — All the varieties produce their blossoms on small spurs, 
which are protruded along the sides of the shoots of one, two, or three 
years' growth, — generally in the course of the second or third year. These 
spurs, if duly thinned, and, wlien necessary, cut in, will continue bearing 
for five or six years, or longer. Standard trees require very little pruning, 
oeyond that of occasionally thinning out the branches, which should be done 
before midsummer, to prevent the gum from appearing on the wounds. 
Plum-trees against walls or espaliers are generally trained horizontally. 
Old trees may be renovated by heading in or cutting down. The plum is 
forced in the same manner as the peach. 

VARIETIES. 

Jefferson. — A superior dessert sort. Fruit large, oval, contracting 
towards the stalk ; color bright, deep yellow, with a purplish-red cheek, and 
a whitish bloom ; flesh orange, quite juicy, richly flavored. Ripens from 
the middle to the last of September ; a good bearer. Fig. 172. 

Green Gage. — Of this plum there are several varieties. The size, in 
good soils, is large, the form round, and the skin green ; the flesh is green, 
melting, juicy, and exquisitely flavored. Ripens in August and September. 
Fig. 173. 

Washington. — A well-known variety ; originated in New York State : 
large, oval ; color bright yellow, with red dots ; flesh yellow, sugary, ex- 
cellent eating. Hardy ; shy bearer ; ripens in September 



FRUITS. FRUIT-TREES, VINES, ETC. 
Fig. 172. 



297 




298 



farmer's hand-book. 



Coe''s Golden Drop. — Thrifty growth ; good bearer ; fruit large and 
handsome, oblong; color greenish-yellow, with violet and crimson dots; 
flesh orange color, rich, juicy, finely flavored. Ripens in September. 

Purple Favorite. — Large size ; roundish ; color light brown, with a 
shading of purple, and bright yellow dots ; flesh greenish, soft, sweet, and 

Fig. 174. 




excellent flavor. Ripens last of September, and bears well. 

Red Gage. — Known also as Long Scarlet, and Scarlet Gage. Medium 
size ; oblong, tapering towards the stalk ; color brilliant red toward the sun, 
and yellowish in the shade, covered with a light purplish bloom ; flesh yel- 
low, rich, and sweet. Ripens first of September. 

Morocco. — Medium size ; round ; deep purple ; flesh slightly yellow, 
tender, sweet, richly flavored. Ripens about the last of August. 

Drap d'' Or. — doth of Gold, by some. Small, round ; color rich, brilliant 
yellow, reddish toward the sun ; flesh yellow, sweet, not so juicy as some 
kinds. A clearstone ; ripens in August ; a pretty fai bearer. 

Yellow Egg. — Large size ; oval, narrowing at both ends ; color yellow, 
whitish dots, and a thin white bloom ; flesh somewhat coarse, yellow 
slightly acid. Ripens in September. A better cooking than eating plum. 

Bleecker^s Gage. — Medium size, nearly round, very regular ; color dark 
yellow, with deep red spots ; flesh yellow, sweet, finely flavored. Ripens 
in September. The tree is hardy, productive, and the fruit much esteemed 
in some parts. Fig. 175. 



FEDITS, FRUIT-TREES, VIHES, ETC. 
Fig. 176. 



299 




Jhume's Purple. — Large size; oval, or oblong bulging on one side; 

Fig. 176. 






300 



FARMER S HAND-BOOK. 



color reddish-purple toward the sun, palish-red in the shade, with a few 
yellow specks, and a lilac bloom ; flesh light brown, juicy, lively, slightly 
acid. Ripens middle of August. 

Royal Hative. — Also called Early Royal. Medium size ; round ; color 
purple, with dark yellowish spots and streaks, blue bloom ; flesh yellow, 
tender, richly flavored. Early, thrifty, productive; ripens early in Sep 
tember. 

M'Laughlin. — Large size, round ; color brownish-yellow, with a red 
tingf; : flesh melting, juicy, fine flavor, though not superior. Ripens in 
August. 

Frost Gage. — Fruit rather small ; roundish ; color dark purple, with 
brown dots ; flesh greenish-yellow, juicy, saccharine, agreeable flavor. 

Fig. 177. 




Ripens in October ; moderately productive : a good sort for cooking pur- 
poses. 

Remarks. — We have enumerated the most valuable sorts, though there 
are others more adapted, perhaps, to certain localities, or preferred by ama- 
teurs ; such as the Imperial Ottoman, Elfrey, Smith'^s Orleans, Flushing 
Gage, Red Diaper, Lombard, Black Dawson, Huling^s Superb, Blue Dwarf 
Gage, and Prince's Imperial Gage. 

THE QUINCE. 

Propagation, djrc. — The quince is, as all know, a low, much-branched, 
crowded, and irregular tree, blossoming in May or June, and ripening its 
fruit in October or November. It is generally propagated by layers, but 
cuttings root without difficulty. The best standards are produced by graft- 
ing, at the height of five or six feet, on the pear, the thorn, or the mountain 
ash. 

The quince is generally planted in the orchard, in some part where the 



FRUITS, FRUIT-TREES, VINES ETC. 301 

soil is good, and not very dry; it bears on two years' old wood, and requires 
little pruning, except thinning out irregular, crowding, or decaying 
branches. The fruit is kept by packing in sand or dry straw. 

It is said that the quince will grow on any soil that will give good corn 
or potato crops. The soil should be well prepare'' by ploughing and oub- 
soil ploughing, and a clean furrow obtained, in the bottom of each furrow 
manure being thrown. After this, planting should commence, — spring or 
autumn answering equally as well. The holes should be dug twice as 
large as the roots of the tree, and a foot and a half deep, and to each tree a 
liberal supply of good compost manure should be given. The branches 
should be shortened in, one half of the last year's growth, before the trees 
are set, and the roots should be saturated with water before being covered 
over with the earth. Press tlie earth moderately about the roots, and leave 
the soil around the trunk concave, like a saucer, to catch the showers. 
This will secure life and thrift to the trees. 

In orchard planting, the trees should be put out in rows twelve feet apart, 
the trees ten feet asunder. This will be near enough, in good soil, pre- , 
pared as above. In three years they will bear, and will continue to do so 
for thirty years. The open space between the trees may be profitably 
cropped with potatoes, and so forth. 

The pruning should be done in the autumn, just after the fall of the leaf. 
The operation consists in cutting out as little as possible, mainly old or 
decayed wood, or any quite superfluous branches. 

In November, fork in around the roots of each tree five or six shovel- 
fuls of fresh stable manure ; and when the spring opens, plough the ground 
between the rows, and lightly stir beneath the trees. Directly after this, 
give the whole a broadcast spread of salt, at the rate of ten bushels to the 
acre, or just a light coat, sufficient to half conceal the ground under each 
tree. The best salt for this purpose is the refuse salt of the packing- 
houses. 

VARIETIES. 

Apple-shaped. — This is also called Orange, a well-known, favorite 
variety. Fruit large, much resembling an apple in shape ; color brilliant 
yellow ; flesh solid, and of fine flavor. A very good bearer, and much 
esteemed as an excellent cooking variety, on account of the flesh becoming 
soft when stewed. Fig. 178. 

Pear-shaped. -^ Medium size, oblong, contracting towards the stem, and 
in general form very similar to a pear ; color yellow ; flesh firmer and 
yields less when cooked than the Apple-shaped. It is not so finely flavored 
as the Apple, and not generally so much esteemed. 
26 



302 



farmer's hand-book. 
Fig. 178. 




Portugal. — This variety is more juicy, less harsh, better colored and 
flavored, than the two preceding. Fruit large, oblong ; color mild yellow ; 
not very productive. A very superior variety, though not so much raised 
as it deserves. 

Remarks. — There are two or three ornamental varieties, but they are 
not of sufficient importance to be described at length. 



THE RASPBERRY. 

Propagation, <SjC. — The only mode of propagation is by suckers, except 
by seeds, which is only resorted to for new varieties. The suckers are 
separated in autumn, either by taking up the whole plant and dividing it, 
or by slipping them off from the sides and roots of the main stock. They 
may be planted at once where they are permanently to remain, in rows 
from north to south, four feet apart every way. They will grow in any 
good garden soil, but it is most prolific in fruit, and the fruit is better 
flavored, in a dry, substantial soil, and an open situation. In making a 
plantation, three or more suckers are allowed to each stool, and planted in 
a triangle at six inches apart. The plants will produce fruit the first year ; 



FRUITS, FRUIT-TREES, VINES, ETC. 



303 



but, if this fruit, or even a third part of it, can be dispensed with, the 
suckers for the succeeding year will be greatly strengthened by cutting the 
stems of the newly-set plants down to within six inches of the ground. 
The future treatment consists in going over the stools every year, early in 
May, and selecting six or seven of the strongest suckers from each stool 
for next year's bearing wood, and destroying all the rest, unless they are 
wanted for a new plantation. In autumn, as soon as the fruit is all gath- 
ered, the stems which have borne it should be cut down to the ground, to 
give light and air to the suckers ; but as these are liable to be injured by 
the frost, they should not be pruned till the following March. They may 
then be shortened to two thirds or three fourths of their length, by cutting 
off the weak wood at the extremities of the shoots. 



VARIETIES. 

Fastolff. — This is a very superior variety, considered by many the best 

Fig. 179. 




304 farmer's hand-book. 

of all the reds. Fruit extra large size ; roundish-conical ; color brilliant red, 
purple tinge ; flesh rich, melting, finely flavored. It is not so much grown 
now as it undoubtedly will be when it is better known ; besides, the plants 
are scarce and high-priced. It is well adapted to the United States. 

Yellow Antwerp. — White Antwerp, and Double-Bearing Yellow, by some. 
A large, conical berry ; color lightish-yellow ; flesh sweet, very pleasant 
flavor. Worthy of cultivation. 

American Black. — A well-known popular variety ; size rather small, in 
its native growth ; color quite dark ; flesh rich, juicy, acid flavor. 

Red Antwerp. — Also called New Red, True Red, and Howland^s Red. 
Large size ; conical ; color pale red ; flesh sweet, juicy, excellent. It is 
early, productive, and ranks first-rate for eating and cooking. 

Franconia — Fruit large ; obtuse-conical; color pvirplish-red ; flesh firm, 
rich, tart, lively. Hardy, productive ; not so early as others, but superior 
for preserving. Fig. 180. 

Fig. 180. 




Remarks. — The White Antwerp is an excellent sort, as is also the 
Gushing, and the Ohio. These, with the varieties previously described, 
constitute the principal cultivated kinds, the others being generally inferior. 

THE STRAWBERRY. 

Propagation and Culture. — The usual time for transplanting strawberry 
plants is August. That time is chosen because they have then done bearing, 
and have made offsets, if the season has been favorable, of strong plants, set 
from their runners. Plantations made at this season will bear some fruit 
the next summer. But, if good, vigorous plants can be obtained in May of 
the preceding season, it should be planted then, as it saves nearly a year, 
ihe plants being ready to bear abundantly the next year. 

Gardeners have different habits and opinions as to trimming the plants, 



FRUITS, FBUIT-TREES, VINES, ETC. 305 

when they are put out. Some cut off all the old leaves, preserving only 
those in the centre of the plant. Others take off the dead or decayed leaves 
only, and plant with all the old healthy leaves on the plant. Many persons 
cut the roots in before they put them into the ground ; — all dead substances 
should be cut off, but not the roots. When the plants are put out, they 
should be kept free from weeds, and the ground should be kept loose about 
them. If the plants are strong, put but one to form the stools ; if weak, put 
two. 

As regards the distance at which plants should be set, cultivators differ. 
The common red strawberry, which is found in all our gardens, may be put 
eight inches apart, in rows nine inches or a foot from each other, and 
allowed to frirm a matted bed of about two feet wide, with a foot-path of a 
foot wide between them. But the larger and finer sorts should be planted 
in stools, in beds four and a half feet wide, with a path of fifteen inches or 
more between the beds. In these beds the plants should be set, by a line, 
fifteen to eighteen inches apart, both ways, taking care that they do not run 
together. 

The objection generally made to this mode of cultivation is, that the fruit 
is exposed to injury by lying upon the ground, where it is bruised, and 
covered with dirt, every time it rains. This, however, may be prevented 
by a little care. Moss, or straw, or the leaves of trees, may be put around 
the stools, so as to prevent the fruit from lying on the ground, and to prevent 
the moisture around the plant from evaporating. 

The strawberry may also be propagated by seeds ; and, if sown imme- 
diately after gathering, will produce plants which will come into bearing 
the following year. 

Soil and Situation. — The best soil is one that is light, warm, and 
gravelly ; and the manure to be applied should be vegetable, rather than 
animal. The common practice is to manure the ground with rotten dung, 
with a view to increase the size and quantity of the fruit ; but, in doing this, 
the flavor of the fruit is destroyed in proportion to the richness of the soil ; 
besides, high manuring produces strong, luxuriant vines, and little fruit. 
Rotten leaves, decayed wood, ashes, in small quantity, mixed with other 
vegetable substances in a compost heap, will make better manure for straw- 
berries than any animal substance whatever. As the vines which bear this 
fruit require great moisture to bring the fruit to its proper size, the soil and 
situation must not be too dry. 

Forcing. — Select for this purpose, in the middle of August, a sufllicient 

number of the best runners, from approved kinds, to have choice from, and 

plant them six inches apart, in beds, upon a strong border, in a dry and 

sheltered situation. As soon as the leaves have withered, mulch them 

26* u 



306 farmer's hand-book. 

lightly with manure ; and if very severe weather occur, protect them for a 
time with straw. They must be kept, the following spring, free from weeds 
and runners, removing also any flowers as they appear. Towards the latter 
end of May, or beginning of June, whenever dull or rainy weather may 
occur, remove them carefully into forty-eight-sized pots, putting one, two or 
three plants into each pot, according as the object may be, whether quality 
or quantity. Place them, when potted, in a situation where they can be 
readily shaded for a time, and receive regular supplies of water, if 
necessary. About the latter end of July, or early in August, these pots 
will be filled with roots, when the plants must be re-potted into flat thirty- 
two-sized pots, and at this time plunged in old tan or coal-ashes. The best 
mode of plunging them is to form beds wide enough to contain five rows of 
pots, when plunged, upon a hard or gravelly surface, to prevent them root 
ing through, the sides supported by slabs of the same width as the depth ot 
the pots, and filling them up with old tan or ashes , the plants remain here 
until wanted to take in, and are easily protected from severe frosts. It will 
be found an excellent plan to preserve the latest forced plants, which are 
not much exhausted, for forcing the first, the next season. These, from their 
long period of rest, and well-ripened buds, are predisposed to break earlier 
and stronger than the others; some of them, if the autumn is moist, will be 
excited, and produce flowers, which must be immediately pinched out. They 
should have 'their balls carefully reduced, and be re-potted in larger pots, 
early in August, protecting them from the late autumnal rains, and from 
frost. 

VARIETIES. 

Dulie of Kent. — Fruit rather small size ; roundish-conical ; color bright, 
deep red; flavor tart, and moderately good. It is, on the whole, considera- 
bly inferior to other sorts, but is an early ripener, — say the last of May, or 
first of June. 

Large Early Scarlet. — This also is an early fruit, and' superior to the 

Fig. 181. 




FRUITS, FRUIT-TREES, VINES, ETC. 307 

Duke of Kent. Medium size ; roundish-oblong ; color brilliant red ; rich, 
sprightly and excellent flavor. A certain and abundant bearer. 

Red Wood. — An old and favorite sort ; size small ; round ; color scarlet ; 
flesh sweet, finely flavored. Productive, ripening in midsummer. 

Black Prince. — Also known as Black Imperial. Fruit large, handsome ; 
roundish; color darkish-red; flesh rich, finely flavored. Hardy and pro- 
lific. 

Hovey^s Seedling. — One of the finest and largest, and well suited to a 
northern climate ; form roundish-conical, regular ; color dark red ; texture 
and flavor very fine. A good bearer, ripening about the middle of June. 
The fruit, with commonly good culture, weighs about a quarter of an ounce, 

Fig. 182. 




and ia an inch and a quarter in diameter. It produces better if grown near 
Bome variety having perfect stamens, such as the Early Scarlet, or Ross 
Phcenii. 

Swainstone^s Seedling. — A comparatively fine sort, well thought of 
by those who have grown it. Large size ; ovate-conical ; color light, shiny 
scarlet; flesh compact, delicious flavor. Not over productive. Fig. 183. 

Ross Phcenix. — Large size to very large, with numerous seeds; form 
trenerally more or less coxcombed or flattened, and surface uneven ; coloi 
dark crimson ; flavor and texture very fine for a large variety. Produc- 
tive ; ripens in June, and is considered nearly equal to Hovey's Seedling. 
Fig. 184. 

Prolific Haulbois. — Large size ; conical ; color purplish-red ; flesh rich, 
juicy, tender, highly flavored. It bears very well, ripens early, and has as 
good a reputation as any of the Hautbois variety. Fig. 185. 



308 



farmer's hand-book. 
Fig. 183. 




Fig. 184. 




Cushing. — Fruit very large: round, some of the berries with a short 
neck ; color light scarlet ; flesh juicy, tender, finely flavored ; good bearer. 
Fig. 186. 



FRUITS, FRUIT-TREES, VINES, ETC. 
Fig. 185. 



309 




Fig. 186. 




Remarks. — The Hudson's Bay, British Queen, White Alpine, White 
Wood, Bishop'' s Orange, Dmvnlon, Elton, Methven Scarlet, Boston Pine^ 
and Myatt's Pine, are esteemed varieties. 

MISCELLANEOUS FRUITS, NUTS, &c. 

Almond. — There are two kinds, — the common or sweet, and the bitter. 
The varieties best deserving culture are the Tender-shelled, the fruit of 



310 fakmer's hand-book. 

which is small ; the Sweet, which is larger ; and the Jordan, also large and 
sweet. These, and all the other kinds, are propagated by budding on the 
plum, and sometimes on seedling almonds for dry situations. 

Blueberry. — A well-known dwarf bush, bearing a small berry, tender, 
juicy, blue color, ripening in July and August, and much used for tarts and 
puddings. Not much cultivated ; grows wild in abundance. 

Butternut. — This is a species of walnut, growing in different parts of 
the United States, and sometimes called Oil Nut and White Walnut. Its 
wood is used for various mechanical purposes, and its bark possesses ■vari- 
ous medicinal qualities. The fruit is eaten, but is more valuable as a 
pickle. 

Chestnut. — The true, sweet chestnut-tree thrives in any but moist or 
marshy soils. It is long-lived, and grows to a great size. Its wood is hard 
and durable, and used for various purposes ; the fruit is eaten raw, or boiled 
or roasted ; the bark, for tanning, is superior to oak. It is raised from the 
seeds, planted in the fall ; the second year they are transplanted, and fine 
varieties are extended by grafting. The Spanish or Portuguese chestnut 
succeeds well in this country, producing fruit, in about seven years, from the 
seed. Its growth is more rapid than the native kind. It may be budded 
on the common chestnut, but is apt to overgrow the stock. 

Fig. — The figs most suitable for a garden are the large white Genoa, the 



Fig. 187. 




early white, the Murray, the small brown Ischia, and the black Ischia. Figs 
may be propagated by seeds, cuttings, layers, suckers, roots, and by ingraft- 



FRXTITS, FRUIT-TREES, VINES, ETC. 



311 



ing ; the best mode being by layers or cuttings, which beai the first oi 
second year. A warm climate is required for out-door culture. 

Filbert. — There are several varieties, — the Red, the Whitt the Barce- 
lona, or Large Cob, and the Frizzled. Filberts require a deep, light, but 
naturally fertile soil, without putrescent manures. They are propagated 
most easily from suckers, and should be well pruned. They bear in the 
fourth or fifth year. 

Lemon. — A small tree, with ovate-oblong leaves, pale-green, with a 
winged stalk. Flowers red externally ; fruit pale yellow, with a juicy and 

Fig. 188. 




very acid pulp. Generally raised from seed in the Eastern countries. In 
this country it may be raised at the South in the open air. 

Lime. — The lime has obovate leaves on a wingless stalk, small white 
flowers, and roundish, pale-yellow fruit, with a nipple-like termination. 
The leaves and general habit of the plant resemble those of the lemon ; 
but the acid of the pulp of the fruit, instead of being sharp and powerful, is 
flat and slightly bitter. The figure (190) represents the South American lime. 

Olive. — The olive grows on a branchy, low, evergreen tree, requiring a 
warm climate and dry soil. The fruit is much in use for pickles, and in 
Europe a rich oil is extracted from the pulp, the fruit being first broken in 
a mill, and reduced to a sort of paste. It is then subjected to the action of 
a press, and the oil swims on the top of the water in the vessel beneath. In 
pickling, the fruit is simply preserved '«i salts and water. Fig. 189, 



312 



FARMER S HAND-BOOK. 
Fig. 189. 




Fig. 190, 




Orange. — The orangre thrives only in a warm climate, thoujjh it is qnite 

generally raised in hot-houses in cold latitudes ; more, however, for orna- 
ment and curiosity than for use. It rarely grows to any considerable height , 
has deep green leaves, and, when fruited, makes a fine appearance. May 
be raised by seed or by cuttings. The principal varieties are the Bcrgamot, 
the Blood-Red, the Saint MichaeVs, Seville, China, Nice, Tangerine, Manda- 
rin. Fig. 191. 

PoMEGHiNATE. — A Small, low tree, in its form and habits not unlike the 
common hawthorn. It is propagated by layers and cuttings, and by grafting 
on the common sort ; or, it may be trained in the fan manner. The chief 



FRUITS. FRUIT-TREES, VINES, ETC. 313 

Fig. 191. 




sorts are the Swee/, the Acid, and the Subacid; besides which, there are 
Bome ornamental varieties. The fruit is about the size of a common apple, 
and is very handsome ; skin hard ; color yellowish-oranfje, with a deep-red 
cheek. Grows in the Middle and Southern States Besides a dessert fruit, 
it is also used medicinally. 

Shellbark. — Also called Shagbark, and Hickory Nut. A large and 
towering tree, with oval leaves ; fruit roundish, sweet and relishing. The 
wood is much used for different mechanical purposes. 

Walnut. — Also called Madeira Nut. A tree of stately proportions, 
bearing in great quantity a large-sized and superior nut. May be propa- 
gated by seeds, and by grafting on the hickory nut. Excellent dessert 
fruit, and makes a good pickle. The kernel is four-lobed. 

Whortleberry. — A small, dwarf shrub, comprising several varieties, and 
known generally by the name of Huckleberry, and Bilberry. It produces a 
round, sweet berry, much used in cooking, and also eaten raw. It grows 
wild, and is seldom cultivated in gardens. 

FRUIT CALENDAR. 

January. — Vinery: commence forcing for fruit in June; begin with a 
temperature of 50°, and gradually increase it, the first month, to 60°. 
Peach-house: commence forcing for fruit in May; begin with a tempera- 
ture of 50*^. Cherry-house: commence forcing with a temperature of 
45°, by night. Figs : plants in pots may now be pla<!ed in a vinery. 
Strqwlterries : take plants in pots into a forcing house or pit twice in the 

?7 



k 



314 farmer's hand-book. 

month. Prune the Apple, Pear, Plum, Cherry, Gooseberry Currant, and 
Raspberry, if the weather is not severe. Nail and tie wall and espalier 
trees. 

February. — Vinery : increase the heat ahove that for the preceding 
month. Peach-house : cease syringing when the trees are in flower. Cherry- 
house : give air at every favorable opportunity. Fig-house : commence 
forcing where the trees are planted in the borders. Melons : sow seeds for 
early crop. Strawberries: take into the forcing-house for succession. 

March. — Peach-house : remove all fore-right shoots from the trees, and, 
when the fruit is set, syringe them. Cherry-house: increase the heat, after 
the bloom is set and stoned. Fig-house: water freely, both at the root and 
over-head. Melons: plant out from last month's sowing. Strawberries: 
give air freely while in flower. Prune and nail Peaches and Nectarines, and 
afterwards protect them with nets, or other covering. Graft fruit-trees. 

April. — Vinei-y : when the grapes are set, keep a very moist tempera- 
ture, and commence thinning them immediately. Peach-house: partially 
thin the fruit before stoning ; afterwards, thin to the quantity required to ripen 
off; — syringe the trees daily in fine weather, and smoke them occasionally, 
to keep down insects. Fig-house : when the shoots have made three or 
four joints, stop them, to cause them to produce fruit in the autumn. Mel- 
ons : allow several of the main shoots to reach the sides of the frame before 
being stopped. Disbud Peaches and Nectarines. 

May. — Vinery: keep the laterals stopped to one joint; take away all 
useless shoots. Peach-house: when the fruit begins to ripen, withhold 
water both at the roots and overhead, — at the same time, admit air freely 
Ckerry-house : raise the temperature to 70° when the fruit is swelling off. 
Fig-house: as the first crop approaches maturity, only sufficient water 
should be given to prevent the second crop of fruit falling off. Melons 
rejulate the vines at an early stage ol' their growth ; after the fruit is set, 
put pieces of slate beneath it. Continue to disbud wall-trees ; remove 
their coverings when danger from frost is over, and wash the trees with 
soap-suds when the fruit is set. Thin the fruit of the Apricot. 

June. — Vinery: as the fruit approaches maturity, keep a dry atmosphere; 

— a few leaves may be taken off, or tied on one side, where they shade the 
fruit. Peach-house: suspend nets or mats beneath the trees, and place in 
them some soft material, for catching the falling fruit. Cherry-house: when 
the fruit is gathered, give the trees several good washings, to destroy insects, 

— the house should also be smoked. Figs: those in pots must be duly 
supplied with water. Melons: ridge out late crops; give air freely to 
ripening fruit. Summer-prune Vines against walls. Finally, thin Apricnlt. 
Set traps for wasps. Net Cherry-trees. 



FRUITS, FRUIT-TREES, VINES, ETC. 315 

July. — Vinery : carefully avoid raising a dust when the fruit is ripe ; 
give air freely. Peach-house : when the fruit is all gathered, give the treea 
several good washings over-head, and give abundance of air till the leaves 
begin to decay, when the lights may be removed. Cherry-trees : if in pots, 
these should now be placed in a shady situation. Fig-house : when the first 
crop is gathered, water the trees liberally, to bring forward the second crop. 
Melons : pay proper attention to the plants in the open air. Finally, thin 
wall-fruit. Prune and tie espalier trees. Bud fruit-trees. Pot Strawberry 
runners, for forcing. Mat Currants and Gooseberries, to preserve them. 
Stop the shoots of vines against walls, two joints above the fruit. 

August. — Vinery: syringe the vines, and give them a root-watering 
after the fruit is cut, to prevent the leaves decaying prematurely. Peach- 
house : the light may be taken off the early house, and used for the purpose 
of forwarding Grapes against walls. Fig-house : syringe the trees fre- 
quently, to keep down insects. Make new plantations of Strawberries. Cut 
down the old canes of Raspberries, when the fruit is gathered. Keep the 
shoots of ivall-trees nailed in, — displace all laterals. Stop the laterals of 
vines to one joint. Continue to bud fruit-trees, as in last month. 

September. — Vinery : the lights of the early forced-house should now be 
left open night and day ; or they may be taken off, if repairs are required. 
Peach-house : if any vacancies are to be filled up, take out the old soil, and 
replace it with fresh, ready for planting next month. Protect out-door 
Grapes from wasps, by bagging the bunches. Gather fruit as it ripens. 
Expose wall-fruit to the sun and air, to give it flavor and color. Continue 
to make new Strawberry plantations, as in last month. 

October. — Vinery: as soon as the leaves have fallen from the vines, 
prune them, take off the loose, rough bark, and wash them. Peach-house : 
fill vacancies with trees from the walls in the open garden ; take up and 
plant carefully. Pot Cherry-trep-s for forcing. Withhold water from Fig- 
trees when the fruit is gathered. Melons : keep up the heat of the beds, to 
forward the ripening of the late fruit. Gather any remaining fruit. Plant 
fruit-trees of all sorts. Prune Currants and Gooseberries. 

November. — Vinery: protect the border where the vines of the early 
forcing-house are growing outside. Peach-house : prune and dress the trees 
as soon as the leaves are fallen. Cherry-house : if the lights have been 
taken off, they should now be replaced, but left open night and day, unless 
the weather is severe ; the trees should now be pruned. Pot i^i^-trees for 
forcing. Continue to plant all sorts of fruit-trees, as in last month. Protect 
Fi^-trees. Prune the Apple, Pear, Plum, Cherry, Filbert, Gooseberry, and 
Currant, as in last month ; also nail and tie those against walls, and espaliers. 
• 



316 farmer's hand-book. 

Look over the fruit and the fruit-room. Mulch newly planted fruit-trees, 
to protect them from frost. 

December. — Vinery: put on the lights, if they have been removed, sc 
as to protect the vines from severe frost. Peach-house : after the trees are 
tied to the trellis, take away a little of the loose, dry-top soil ; slightly dig 
the border, so as noi to injure the roots, and add some fresh soil. Cherry- 
house : fix the trees tn the trellis, and make preparations for forcing next 
month. Fig-house: the frost should be kept out, and if the trees need any 
pruning, it should now be done. Continue to nail and prune in mild 
weather. Partially unnail the shoots of Peach and Nectarine trees. Prot&f^ 
Strawberries in pots, and all fruit-trees intended for forcing. Dig fruit 
quarters where pruning is completed. 



CHAPTER VII. 

DOMESTIC OR FARM ANIMALS. 

THE EEARINQ, BEKEDING, DISEASES, AND GENERAL CAF.E OF THE BULL — THE OX 

— THE COW SHEEP SWINE THE HORSE THE ASS THE MULE THB 

GOAT THB DOG IN ALL THEIR STANDARD VARIETIES; WITH A MONTHLY 

CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS. 

I. HORNED OR NEAT CATTLE. 

Breeding and Rearing. — The objects to be kept in view, in breeding cat- 
tle, are a form either well adapted to fatten, for producing milk, or for 
labor. These three objects have each of them engaged the attention of 

Fig. 192. 




agriculturists ; but experience has not altogether justified the expectation 
that has been entertained of combining all these desirable properties, in an 
eminent degree, in the same race. Tliat form which indicates the property 
of yielding the most milk differs materially from that which we know, from 
experience, to be combined with early maturity and the most valuable car- 
cass ; and the breeds which are understood to give the greatest weight of 
meat for the food they consume, and to contain the least proportion of ofTkl, 
are not those which possess, in the highest degree, the strength and activity 
required in beasts of labor. A disposition to fatten, and a tendency to yield 
a large quantity of milk, cannot be united. The form of the animal most 
remarkable for the first is vftry different from that of the other ; — in place 
27 * (317) 



318 farmer's hand-book, 

of being flat in the sides, and big in the belly, as all great milkers are, it is 
high-sided and light-bellied, — in a word, the body of the animal well 
adapted to fatten is barrel-formed, while that of the milker is widest down- 
wards. 

Procreating Age. — The age at which bulls should be employed, and the 
number of seasons they should be allowed to serve, as well as the age at 
which the females should begin to breed, are points regarding which prac- 
tice is by no means uniform. Sometimes the bulls are pretty commonly 
allowed to leap while yearlings, and, if good stock-getters, are kept on as 
long as they can serve, — perhaps till they are ten or twelve years old ; in 
some places they are employed only three seasons, for the first time at two 
years old. The females, in many instances, bring their first calf at the age 
of two years, but more commonly, perhaps, not till they are a year older. 

Period of Gestation. -^ The period of gestation with cows has been found 
to be about fijrty weeks. Cows seldom bring more than one calf at a time. 
When they produce twins, one of them a male and the other a female, the 
latter, which is called a free martin, is commonly considered incapable of 
procreation, though there are a few instances to the contrary. 

Time of Impregnation. — The most desirable period for putting cows to 
the bull is midsummer, in order that they may be dropped in the spring, 
and have the whole of the grass season before them. Where no regular 
system is followed, and cows are sent to the bull merely because they are 
in heat, calves will be dropped at all seasons; but excepting when the fat- 
ting of calves is an object of importance, it is probably the most advan- 
tageous time, as the calves, having all the grass season before them, become 
sufficiently strong for enduring the change to a less agreeable food in the 
ensuing winter. A calf newly weaned seldom thrives well during that 
period, unless it is pampered with better food than usually falls to the share 
of young animals. By midsummer the cows are readier to take the bull 
than at any other season, and will bring calves in proper time. If a cow 
goes till after May before she calves, the calf will be too weak the winter 
following, and the dam will not be so ready to take the bull again, but will 
often grow barren. 

Rearing. — The mode of rearing calves differs in different places. The 
best method, according to some, is this : The calves suck a week or a fort- 
night, according to their strength ; new milk in the pail, a few meals ; next 
new milk and skim-milk mixed, a few meals more ; then, skim-milk alone ; 
or porridge, made with milk, water, ground oats, &c., and sometimes 
oil-cake, until cheese-making commences, after which, whey porridge, or 
sweet whey, in the field ; being careful to house them in the night, until 
warm weather sets in. This method of suckling is not, however, free from 



DOMESTIC OR FARM ANIMALS. 319 

objection ; and, in the ordinary practice of rearing calves, it is held to be 
a preferable plan to begin at once to teach them to drink from a pail. The 
calf that is fed from the teat must depend upon the milk of its dam, how- 
ever scanty or irregular it may be ; whereas, when fed from a dish, the 
quantity can be regulated according to its age, and various substitutes may 
be resorted to, by which a great part of the milk is saved for other purposes, 
or a greater number of calves reared on the same quantity. 

When fed from the pail, two gallons a day, for about three months, is 
enough ; but after it is three weeks old, it is best to give substitutes. When 
reared with skim-milk, it should be given about as warm as cow's milk 
when first drawn. If over-cold, the calves will purge, which, however, 
may be remedied by putting two or three spoonfuls of rennet into the milk. 

When dropped during the grass season, calves should be put into some 
small home-close of sweet, rich pasture, after they are eight or ten days 
old, not only for the sake of exercise, but also that they may the sooner 
take to eating grass. When they are dropped in the winter, or before the 
return of the grass season, a little short, soft hay or straw, or sliced turnips, 
should be laid in the trough or stall before them. 

The treatment of young cattle, from the time they are separated from 
their dams, or able to subsist on the common food of the other stock, must 
depend upon the farm on which they are reared. In summer, their pasture 
is often coarse, but abundant ; and in winter, all good breeders give thera 
an allowance of succulent food along with their dry fodder. The first win- 
ter they have hay and turnips ; the following summer, coarse pasture ; the 
second winter, straw in the fold-yard, and a few turnips once a day, in an 
adjoining field, just sufficient to prevent the straw from binding them too 
much ; the next summer, tolerably good pasture, and the third winter, as 
many turnips as they can eat, and treated as fatting cattle. 

Castrating. — There used to be a strange difference of opinion among 
farmers as to the time when this operation should be performed. In some 
places it is delayed until the animal is two years old : but this is done to 
the manifest injury of his form, his size, his propensity to fatten, the quality 
of his meat, and his docility and general usefulness as a working ox. Tlie 
period which is now pretty generally selected is between the first and third 
months. The nearer it is to the last of the first month, the less danger 
attends the operation. 

Mode. — Some persons prepare the animals by the administration of a 
dose of physic ; but others proceed at once to the operation when it best 
suits their convenience, or that of the farmer. Care, however, should be 
taken that the young animal is in perfect health. The mode formerly prac- 
tised was simple enough : — a piece of whip-cord was tied as tightly as 



320 farmer's hand-book. 

possible around the scrotum. The supply of blood being thus completely 
cut off, the bag and its contents soon became livid and dead, and were suf- 
fered to hang, by some careless operators, until they dropped off, or were 
cut off on the second or third day. It is now, however, the general prac- 
tice to grasp the scrotum in the hand, between the testicles and the belly, 
and make an incision on one side of it, near the bottom, of sufficient depth 
to penetrate through the inner covering of the testicle, and long enough to 
admit of its escape. The testicle immediately bursts from its bag, and is 
seen hanging by its cord. 

The careless or brutal operator now firmly ties a piece of small string 
around the cord, and having thus stopped the circulation, cuts through the 
cord half an inch below the ligature, and removes the testicle. He, how- 
ever, who has any feeling for the poor animal on which he is operating, 
considers that the only use of the ligature is to compress the blood-vessels 
and prevent after hemorrhage ; and therefore saves a great deal of unneces- 
sary torture, by including them alone in the ligature, and afterwards divid- 
ing the rest of the cord. The other testicle is proceeded with in the same 
way, and the operation is complete. The length of the cord should be so 
contrived that it shall immediately retract into the scrotum, but not higher, 
while the ends of the string hang out through the wounds. In the course 
of about a week, the strings will usually drop off, and the wounds will 
speedily heal. It will be rarely that any application to the scrotum will be 
necessary, except fomentation of it, if much swelling should ensue. 

A few — but their practice cannot be justified — seize the testicle as soon 
as it escapes from the bag, and, pulling violently, break the cord, and tear it 
out. It is certain that when a lilood-vessel is thus ruptured, it forcibly con- 
tracts, and very little bleeding follows ; but if the cord breaks high up, and 
retracts into the belly, considerable inflammation has sometimes ensued, ain't 
the beast has been lost. This tearing of the cord may be practised on small- 
er animals, as pigs, lambs, and rabbits, as their vessels are small, and there 
is but little substance to be torn asunder ; but, even there, the knife, some- 
what blunt, will be a more skilful and humane substitute. This laceration 
should never be permitted in the castration of the calf or the colt. 

The application of torsion, or the twisting of the arteries by means of a 
pair of forceps which will firmly grasp them, promises to supersede every 
other mode of castration, both in the larger and the smaller domesticated 
animals. The spermatic artery is exposed, and seized with the forceps, 
which are then closed by a very simple mechanical contrivance ; the vessel 
is drawn a little out from its surrounding tissues, the forceps are turned 
round seven or eight times, and the vessel liberated. It will be found i)er- 
fectly closed ; a small knot will have formed on its extremity • it will retract 



DOMESTIC OR FARM ANIMALS, 



321 



into the surrounding substance, and not a drop more blood will flow froru 
it; the cord may be then divided, and the bleeding from any little vessel 
arrested in the same way. Neither the application of the hot iron or of the 
wooden claws, whether with or without caustic, can be necessary in the 
castration of the calf. 

Fattening. — The common method of fattening Calves is, to allow them 
to suck, as by this method the object is probably not only sooner, but more 
effectually, attained, than by any other means. The period necessary varies 
from five to nine weeks, — the time being much shorter where milk is very 
valuable. Another method is, to give them the milk to drink, morning and 
evening, warm from the cow ; the quantity being increased according to 
their age and strength. In whatever way they are managed, they should be 
kept in pens in a close house, and well littered, kept clean, and enjoy a due 
quantity of fiesh air. Meal, linseed boiled into a jelly, and such like arti- 
cles, are also given to calves while fattening. 



Fig. 193 




The food on which Cattle are fatted is grass in summer, commonly on 
pastures, but sometimes on herbage cut and consumed in feeding-houses oi 

V 



322 farmer's hand-book. 

fold-yards ; and in winter, on turnips, along- with hay or straw, oil-cake, 
carrots, potatoes, &c. The hay or straw is much more beneficial when cut 
by one of the machines now used for that purpose. 

The age at which cattle are fatted depends on the circumstance of theii 
being employed in breeding, in labor, for the dairy, or solely for the 
butcher. In the latter case, the most improved breeds are fit for the sham, 
bles when about three years old, and very few of any large breed are kept 
more than a year longer. As to cows and working oxen, in most instances 
the latter are put up to feed after working three years, or in the seventh or 
eighth year of their age. In general, it may be said that the small breeds 
of cattle are fattened on pastures, though sometimes finished off on a few 
weeks' turnips ; and large cattle, at least in some parts, are chiefly fatted 
in stalls or fold-yards, by means of turnips, and other like substances. 

HOW TO JUDGE OF CATTLE FOR VARIOUS OBJECTS AND PURPOSES. 

The Bull. — The head should be rather long, and the muzzle fine ; eyes 
lively and prominent ; ears long and thin ; horns wide ; neck rising with a 
gentle curve from the shoulders, and small and fine where it joins the head ; 
shoulders moderately broad at the top, joining full to his chine or crops 
and chest backwards, and to the neck-vein forwards ; bosom open ; breast 
broad, and projecting well before his legs; arms, or fore-thighs, muscular, 
and tapering to his knee ; legs clean, and very fine-boned ; chine and chest 
so full as to leave no hollows behind the shoulders ; plates strong, to keep 
his belly from sinking below the level of his breast ; back, or loin, broad, 
straight, and flat ; ribs rising one above another in such a manner that the 
last rib shall be rather the highest, leaving only a small space to the hips 
or hooks, the whole forming a round or barrel-like carcass; hips should be 
wide-placed, round, and a little higher than the back ; the quarters, from the 
hip to the rump, long, tapering gradually from the hips backward, and the 
turls or pott-bones not protuberant ; rumps close to the tail ; tail broad, well- 
haired, and in a horizontal line with his back. 

Bulls should be constantly well fed, and kept in proper enclosures. 

The Ox. — The head ought to be rather long, and muzzle fine ; counte- 
nance calm and placid ; horns fine ; neck light, particularly where it joins 
the head ; breast wide, and projecting well before the legs ; shoulders 
moderately broad at the top, and the joints well in, and, when the animal is 
in good condition, the chine so full as to leave no hollow behind them; 
the fore flank well filled up, and the girth behind the shoulders deep ; 
back straight, wide, and flat; ribs broad, and the space between them and 
tlie hips small ; flank full and heavy; belly well kept in, and not sinking 
low in the middle ; hips round, wide across, and on a level with the back 



DOMESTIC OR FARM ANIMALS 



323 



itself; the hind quarters, that is, from the hips to the extremity of tlic 
rmnp, long and straight; the rump points fat, and coming well up to the 
tail ; the twist wide, and the seam in the middle of it so well filled, that tiia 
whole niay very nearly form a plane, perpendicular to the line of the back ; 
the lower part of the thigh small ; tail broad and fat towards the top, biu 
the lower part thin ; legs long and strong ; feet and hoofs broad and hardy ; 
and, when the animal is in fine condition, the skin of a rich and silky 
appearance. 

Pig. 194. 




Skeleton of the Ox. 



a, The upper jaw bone. 

6, The nasal bone, or bone of the nose. 

c, The lachrymal bone. 

d, The malar, or cheek bone. 

e, The frontal, or forehead bone. 

J", The horns, hehig processes or contin- 
uations of the frontal. 

g; The temporal bone. 

A, The parietal bone, low \n the tempo- 
ral fossa. 

t, The occipital bone, deeply depressed 
below ilie crest or ridge of the head. 

j, The lower jaw. 

k. The grinders. 

/, The nippers, found on the lower jaw 
alone. 



m. The ligament of the neck, aad it 

attachments, 
n, The atlas. 
0, The dentata. 
p, The orbit of the eye. 
q, The vertebrae, or bones of the neck. 
r. The bones of the back. 
s, The bones of the loins. 
/, The sacrum, 
w, The bones of the tail. 
V tf- IB, The haunch and pelvis 
X, The eight true ribs, 
y. The false ribs, with cartilages. 
z, The sternum. 
1, The scapula, or shoulder-blade. 



324 



farmer's hand-book. 



2, The humerus, or lower bone of the 

shoulder. 

3, The radius, or principal bone of the 

arm. 

4, The ulna, its upper part, forming the 

elbow. 

5, The small bones of the knee. 

6, The large metacarpal or shank bone. 

7, The smaller or splint bone. 

8, The sessamoid bones. 

9, The hifur;ation at the pasterns, and 

the two larger pasterns to each foot. 



10, The two smaller pasterns to eacn foot 

1 1 , The two coffin bones to each foot. 

12, The navicular bones. 

13, The thigh bone. 

14, The patella, or bone of the knee. 
!5, The tibia, or proper leg bont . 

16, The point of the hock. 

17, 17, The small bones of the hock. 

18, 18, The metatarsals, or larger bones 

of the hind leg. 

19, 19, The pasterns and feet. 



The Cow. — Wide horns ; head and neck thin ; dewlap large ; full breast ; 
broad back ; large, deep belly ; the udder capacious, but not too fleshy ; 
the milk-veins prominent, and the bag tending far behind, teats large and 
long ; buttocks broad and fleshy, tail long and pliable, legs in good propor- 
tion, and the joints short. To these may be added a gentle disposition, and 
free from vicious tricks. 

Age of Cattle. — This is determined by the teeth and horns. At the end 
of about ten years, they shed their first four teeth, which are replaced by 
others, larger, but not so white ; before five years, all the incisive teeth are 
renewed. These teeth are at first equal, long, and pretty white; but, as the 
animals advance in years, they wear down, and become unequal and black. 
These animals likewise shed their horns at the end of three years, 
and are replaced by other horns, which, like the second teeth, continue. 
The manner of the growth of these horns is not uniform, nor the shooting 
of them equal. The first year, — that is, the fourth year of the animal's age, 
— two small pointed horns make their appearance, neatly formed, smooth, and 
towards the head terminated by a kind of button. The following year this 
button moves from the head, being impelled by a horny cylinder, which, 
lengthening in the same manner, is also terminated by another button ; and 
so on, for the horns contiime growing as long as the animals live. These 
Duttons become annular joints or rings, which are easily distinguished in 
the horns, and by which the age of the creature may be easily known, — 
counting three years for the point of the horn, and one for each of the joints 
or rings. The cow is useful for twenty years, — much longer than the bull. 

Names of Cattle at Different Ages. — A young castrated male, iftei the 
first year, is called a stot, stirk, or steer; at five years old, an ox. A 
female, after the first year, is called an heifer, or quey ; at five years old. a 
cow ; and afterwards a castrated female is called a spayed heifer or cow 
Bullock is the general term for any full-grown cattle, male or female, 
fat or lean 



DOMESTIC OR FAKM ANIMALS, 



325 



DIFFERENT BREEDS. 

Native. — Our best cattle are more or less mixed with standard breeds ; 
but of which no record has been kept. We here give a specimen (Fig, 
195) of an almost perfect cow. This cow gave thirty-eight and a half 
quarts per day. 

In the Eastern and Middle States the ruling qualities of the North De- 
von stock are quite perceptible. The cattle average well. The oxen are 
good under the yoke and the cows good milkers. By means of this 
stock and imported bulls the cattle of the Western and Middle States are 

Fig. 195. 




326 



FARMERS HAND-BOOK. 



being vastly improved. In the West, the short-horned animals have been 
g-enerally preferred, but the Durhams are now? coming into vogue very exten- 
sively, on account of their superior adaptedness to travel to the Eastern 
markets without sensibly deteriorating in weight and quality. The English 
Herefords are now being paid particular attention to, as they are supposed to 
be well calculated for the Western graziers ; the West Highland breed is 
also recommended. 

Devon. — The true Devon cattle are gentle, agile, and peculiarly adapted 
to active laour. Their shoulders have that obliquity which enables them to 
lift freely their fore extremities ; and their quarters behind are relatively 
long, a characteristic connected with the power of active motion. Their 
bodies, too, are light, and their limbs long, muscular to the hock and knee, 
and below these joints sinewy. They have the faculty of muscular exertion 
in a high degree, trot well in harness, and will keep pace with a horse in 
the ordinary labors of the farm. 

Devon Bull. — The figure below represents a fine specimen of a genuine 

Fig. 196. 




Devon bull. The horn of the Devon bull ought to be neither too low nor too 
high, tapering at the points, not too thick at the root, and of a yellow or 
waxy color. The eye should be clear, bright, and prominent, showing much 
ti' the white, and it ought to have around it a circle of a variable color, but 



DOMESTIC OR FARM ANIMALS, 



327 



usually a dark orange. The forehead should be flat, indented, and small, 
the purity of the breed being very much determined by the latter character- 
istic. The cheek should be small, the muzzle fine, the nose clear yellow, 
the nostril high and open, the hair curled about the head, and the neck quite 
thick. Excejjting in the head and neck, the form of the bull does not 
materially differ from that of the ox, but he is considerably smaller. There 
are some exceptions, however, to this rule, as the two figures which follow 
indicate, these representing the offspring of the bull exhibited in Fig. 
196. 



Fig. 197. 




^^.,/Aivvv^^''::r^v 



Devon Ox. — The head of the Devon ox is quite small, with a great 
breadth of forehead ; clean and free from flesh about the jaws ; prominent 
eye ; vivacious countenance ; long and thin neck ; light in the withers ; th3 
shoulders a little oblique ; breast deep ; bosom open and wide ; fore-legs 
wide apart ; the point of the shoulder rarely seen ; no projection of bone, as 
in the horse, but a kind of level line running on to the neck ; skin, notwith- 
standing the curly hair, exceedingly mellow and elastic ; color a blood red, 
which is usually indicative of purity of breed, though there are many 
animals, of great excellence, of a chestnut hue, and even bay brown. Those 
of a yellowish hue are said to be subject to steal (diarrhoea). The preceding 
figure is an accurate likeness of an ox beginning to fatten, but his character- 



328 



farmer's hand-book. 



istic points not yet concealed. The cut below is that of a working Devon 
ox, embodying almost all the good points which have been enumerated. 

Fig. 198. 




''^^•*Hv^■(^^,lr^ "^ViVA/*^^^ 






A selection from the most perfect animals of the true hreed, — the bone 
still small and the neck fine, but the brisket deep and wide, and down to the 
knees, and not an atom of flatness all over the side, — or one cross, and only 
one, with the Hereford, and that stealthily made, — these have improved the 
strength and bulk of the Devon ox, without impairing, in the slightest 
degree, his activity, beauty, or his propensity to fatten. 



Pig. 199. 




Devon Cow. — There are few things more remarkable about the Devon- 
shire cattle than the comparative small ness of the cow. The bull is a great 
deal less than the ox, and the cow almost as much smaller than the bull. 
This is somewhat of a disadvantage, on the wliole, a roomy cow being very 
desirable for breeding But, though small, the Devon possesses that roundness 



DOMESTIC OR FARM ANIMALS. 



329 



and projection of the last two or three ribs, which renders it more roomy 
than a careless examination would lead one to suppose. She is particularly 
distinguished for her full, round, clear eye, the gold-colored circle around 
the eye, and the same color prevailing on the inside skin of the ear ; coun- 
tenance cheerful, the muzzle orange or yellow, but the rest of the face having 
nothing of black, or even white, about it ; jaws free from thickness, and the 
throat free from dewlap. The points of the back and the hind quarters dif- 
fer from those of other breeds, having more roundness and beauty, and being 
free from most of those angles by which good milkers are sometimes dis- 
tinguished. 

The following is a portrait of a Devon cow, rising four years old. With 

Fig. 200. 




^^^^^: "Iff^jjg?^^^^ 



regard to size, she is a favorable specimen, and it will be seen at once how 
much more roomy and fit for breeding she is than even her somewhat 
superior bulk would at first indicate. She is, perhaps, in a little better 
condition than cows generally are, or should be, in order to yield their full 
quantity of milk. 

Remarks. — The qualities of the Devon cattle may be referred to three 
points — their working, fattening, and milking. 

Where the ground is not too heavy, the Devonshire oxen are unrivaled 
at the plough. They are quick, active, docile, and capable. They are 
usually taken in to work when about two years old. If kept idle till five 
28* 



330 



FARMERS HAND-BOOK. 



or six years of age, they will be stinted in growth. At six to sii and a 
half, they reach their full stature. At nine years, or older, they decline in 
value. 

With regard to their disposition to fatten, they have few rivals here 
They do not, indeed, attain the great weight of some breeds, but, in a given 
time, they acquire more flesh, and with less consumption of food ; and their 
flesh is beautiful in its kind, pleasing to the eye, and to the taste. 

For milking, the Devons are inferior to several other breeds. The milk 
is good, yielding more than an average proportion of cream and butter, but it 
is deficient in quantity. Some, however, deny that the latter is true. 

Durham, OR SHORT-HORN. — The short-horned, sometimes called the Dutch 
breed, is known by a variety of names, such as the Holderness, the Tees- 
water, the Yorkshire, Durham, Northumberland, and others. Applying the 
points of judging live-stock to the short-horns, it is found, that for quantity 
and well-laid-on beef, the short-horned ox is quite full in every valuable 

Fig. 201. 




part. In regard to quality of beef, the fat bears a due and even predominat- 
ing proportion to the lean, the fibres of which are fine and well mixed, and 
even marbled with fat, and abundantly juicy. The fine, thin, clean bones of 
the legs and head, with the soft, mellow touch of the skin, and the benign 
aspect of the eye, indicate in a remarkable degree the disposition to fatten ; 
while the uniform colors of the skin, red or white, or both combined in 



A 



DOMESTIC OR FARM ANBIALS. 



331 



various degrees, mark distinctly the purity of the blood. They are at once 
distinguished from any of the other breeds by their additional size, and their 
more square and massy form. Their bones are exceedingly small, compared 
with the size of the animal ; their skin possesses that peculiar touch so 
characteristic of a good feeder ; they arrive early at maturity ; and , further, 
they combine the valuable qualities of milking and fattening in an unsur- 
passed degree. 

Fig. 201 exhibits one of the truest specimens of Short-horned bulls, and 
may be relied on for its faithful delineation. 

The Short-horned cow gives a large quantity of milk, and is, in all 
respects, a superior animal. Having given some account of the excellent 
qualities distinguishing the breed generally, we close with presenting a life- 
likeness of one of the female species. 

Fig. 202. 




Herefordshire. — The Herefordshire white-faced breed may be thus dis- 
tinguished : The countenance cheerful, pleasant, open ; the forehead broad ; 
eye full and lively ; horns bright, taper, and spreading ; head small ; chap 
lean ; neck long and tapering ; chest deep and full ; bosom broad, and pro- 
jecting forward ; shoulder-bone thin, flat, full, and mellow in flesh ; loin 
broad ; hips standing wide, and level with the chine ; quarters long, and wide 
at the neck ; rump even with the level of the back, and not drooping, nor 
ptanding high and sharp above the quarters; tail slender and neatly haired ; 
barrel round and roomy ; the carcass throughout deep and well-spread ; riba 
broad, standing flat and close on the outer surface, forming a smooth, even 
barrel, — the hindmost large and full of length ; round bone small, snug, and 



332 



FARMERS HAND-BOOK. 



not prominent ; thigh clean, and regularly tapering ; legs upright and short 
below the knee, and hock small ; feet of middle size ; flank large ; flesh 
everywhere mellow, soft, and yielding pleasantly to the touch, especially on 
the chine, the shoulder, and the ribs ; hide mellow, supple, of a middle 
thickness, and loose on the neck and buckle ; coat neatly haired, bright ana 
silky ; color a middle red, with a bald face, characteristic of the true breed. 
They fatten to a much greater weight than the Devons, and at an early age. 
They are far worse milkers, however, than the latter, but will thrive and 
grow fat where a Devon would scarcely live. A cross of the Devon and 
Hereford will often improve each other, the former acquiring bulk and 
hardihood, and the latter a finer form and activity. 

The Hereford cow (Fig. 203) is apparently a very inferior animal. 
Not only is she a poor milker, but her form is defective, — small, delicate, 
and ill-made. She is very light-fleshed when in common condition, and 

Fig. 203. 




beyond that, while she is breeding, she is not suffered to proceed ; but when 
she is actually put up for fattening, she spreads out, and accumulates fat at 
a most extraordinary rate. 

The Hereford ox fattens speedily at a very early age, and it is therefore 
generally more advantageous that he should go to market at three years 
old than be kept longer to be employed as a beast of draught. 



DOMESTIC OR FARM ANIMALS. 



333 



Ayrshire. — This breed has been much improved. It is short in the leg, 
\he neck a little thicker at the shoulder, but finely shaped towards the head ; 



Fiff. 204. 




the horns are smaller than those of the Highland breed, but clear and 
smooth, pointing forwards, and turning upwards, tapering to a point. 

Fig. 205. 




334 



F> emeu's hand-book. 



They are deep in the carcass, but net round and ample, and especially not 
so in the loins and haunches. Fig 204 represents an improved Ayrshire 
bull. 

It is said that the Ayrshire farmers prefer their dairy bulls according to 
the feminine aspect of their heads and necks, and wish them not round 
behind, but broad at the hook-bones and hips, and full in the flanks. 

The Ayrshire cow is a valuable dairy cow, the quantity of milk yielded 
by her being very great, considering her size. Five gallons daily, for two 
or three months after calving, may be considered as not more than an aver- 
age ; three gallons daily will be given for the next three months, and one 
gallon and a half during the succeeding four months. Three gallons and a 
half of this milk will yield about a pound of butter ; thus fully establishing 
the reputation of the Ayrshire cow, so far as the dairy is concerned. Fig. 
205 represents one of these beautiful animals. 

New Leicester. — This breed may be substantially distinguished by the 
following characteristics : The fore end long, but light to a degree of ele- 

Fig. 206. 




gance ; neck thin ; chap clean ; the head fine, but long and tapering ; eye 
large, bright, and prominent ; the horns of the bulls comparatively short, 
of the oxen extremely long, as are, also, those of the cow, and most of thero 



DOMESTIC OR FARM ANIMALS. 335 

hang' downward by the side of the cheeks ; shoulders fine and thin as to 
bone, but thick as to flesh, without any protuberance of bone ; girth small, 
compared with the short-horns and middle-horns ; chine quite full when fat ; 
loin broad, hip quite wide and protuberant ; quarters long and level, the 
nache of a middle width, and the tail set on variously; round bones small, 
but thighs fleshy, tapering; legs small, clean, somewhat long; feet neat, 
middling size ; the carcass as nearly a cylinder as the natural form of the 
animal will allow ; ribs standing out full from the spine ; belly small ; hide 
middling thick ; color various, — the brindle, the finch-back, and the pye, are 
common. The fattening quality, when the breed is in a state of maturity, 
is indisputably good. As grazier's stock, they rank high. The principle 
of the utility of form has been strictly attended to. As dairy stock, their 
merit is less evident. As beasts of draught, many of them are sufliciently 
powerful, and are more active than some other breeds used for the plough, 
or on roads ; but their horns form something of an objection to such use of 
them. Fig. 206 is that of a New Leicester cow. 

Remarks. — Some of the other most noted breeds, which are coming into 
extensive favor in this country, are the Holderness, the Galloway, the Sus- 
sex, the Alderney, the Suffolk, and the Kyloe ; these, however, we do not 
design to notice in detail, but shall close our notes on neat cattle with a few 
remarks on some of the characteristics and general management ol' 

DAIRY cows. 

Qualities. — We have already expressed, in the preceding pages, the 
general opinions entertained as to the adaptedness of particular breeds for 
dairy purposes. 

Where butter is the main object, such cows should always be chosen as 
are known to afford the best and largest quantities of milk and cream, of 
whatever breed they may be. But the quantity of butter to be made from 
a given number of cows must always depend on the size and goodness of 
the beasts, the kind and quantity of food, and the distance of time from 
calving. The form of animals that are best fitted to arrive at early maturity 
and secrete fat, differs in some respects from that which indicates a dispo- 
sition to secrete and yield milk. A dairy cow, like a feeding animal, 
should have a skin soft and mellow to the touch, — should have the back 
straight, the loins broad, the extremities small and delicate ; but she need 
not, as in the case of the feeding animal, have the chest broad and prom- 
inent before. She should rather have the fore-quarters light, and the hind- 
quarters relatively broad, capacious, and deep ; and she should have a large, 
v/ell-formcd udder. There should be no breeding in-and-in, as in the case 
of a feeding stock. The purpose in rearing cows for the dairy is not to pro- 



336 farmer's hand-book. 

duce animals that will arrive at premature age, but such as are hardy and 
of good constitution. By long attention to the characters that indicate a 
disposition to yield milk, the breed of Ayrshire has become greatly more 
esteemed for the dairy than other animals much superior to them in size and 
feeding qualities. 

Feeding. — With respect to the manner of feeding dairy cows, the most 
economical, perhaps, is feeding them entirely on green forage during the 
summer, and on roots in winter. But, as to the effect of food, notwith- 
standing all that may justly be said respecting the nutritive properties of 
peculiar roots and artificial grasses, no food can excel that of good natural 
pastures, for milch cows ; for not only do they yield a greater quantity of 
milk when fed on pastures, but the flavor of grass butter may always be 
distinguished, by its superior richness and delicacy, from that which has 
been made from milk produced from soiling in the house. This, however, 
should not deter the farmer from feeding his dairy stock in that manner, for 
the difference in the quality of the produce is not so great as to counter- 
balance the many advantages resulting from a due extent and proper kind 
of soiling. But in a country where cultivation has not been carried to ita 
fullest extent, and a considerable proportion of the land is necessarily 
devoted to the production of grass, the cows may be kepi, with great 
advantage, on the pastures, during summer. 

Keeping in Good Condition. — Dairy cows should be kept constantly in 
good condition. When they are suffered to fall ofl^ in flesh, particularly in 
the winter season, it is impossible that they can be brought to yield a large 
quantity of milk, by getting them into better condition in the summer 
months. When cows are lean at the period of calving, no managemen' 
afterwards is capable of bringing them to afford, for that season, anything 
near the proportion of milk they would have yielded if they had been sup- 
ported in proper condition during the winter. Food of the most nourishing 
and succulent kinds should, therefore, be regularly given, in suitable pro- 
portions, in the cold, inclement months, and they should be kept tolerably 
warm, and well supplied with pure water. It will be equally conducive to 
the health of cows as to that of feeding cattle, to comb them regularly, and 
to make such other arrangements as are conducive to cleanliness. 

Milking. — In summer, the cows are milked in the field, or they are 
driven gently home to their stalls, and milked there. The cows, when in 
full milk, should be milked three times a day, and, at other times, twice in 
the day will suffice. On the physiological principle of the secretions of 
animals being increased in proportion as the secreted fluid is more frequently 
withdrawn, the propriety of frequent milkings is apparent, in order to 
increase or maintain the supply of milk produced by cows. There can be 



DOMESTIC OR FARM ANIMALS. 



337 



little doubt but that, by accustoming the secretory organs to more frequent 
action, such a habit may be established in them as will afford a larger pro- 
portion of milk in a given time. But, in order to effect this in the most 
perfect manner, it will be necessary to have the cows highly fed, to observe 
the greatest regularity and exactness in the hours of milking, and to be 
carjful that every drop of milk is drawn away each time. If any milk is 
allowed to remain in the udder after the operation of milking, it is well 
ascertained that the cow will yield a smaller quantity at the next milking. 

A milch cow is usually considered in her prime at five years old, and 
will generally continue in as good milking state until ten years old, or 
upwards, depending much on the constitution of the animal, — some cows, 
'ike other animals, exhibiting symptoms of old age sooner than others. 

Ascertaining the Quality of Milk. — The value of milk, and the propor- 
tion of either butter or cheese that it produces, depends much upon its 
quality. As the milk of some cows is so greatly superior to that of others, 
where regularity is observed, it is important that the milk of each should 
be placed by itself until its quality is ascertained. This is effected by 
churning it separately ; but a more expeditious and convenient method is to 
ascertain its strength by means of the lactometer, an instrument which we 
have described in the chapter on the dairy, and a cut of which we annex. 

Fig. 207. 




Grazing Cattle. — Fatteninj]; cattle for sale beinjjj an important branch 
of agricultural economy, the farmer should regulate his sy.steni of grazinj; 
by his knowledge of the nature and fertility of his pastures. Those beasts 
only should be selected, which show a disposition to fatten on the smallest 
amount of food, and it will be advisable to pasture them on lands suited 
to their different breeds. It is a bad practice to transfer cattle from rich 
to inferior soils : the reverse should be the rule ; and graziers -vould do 
29 w 



338 FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 

well by selecting their purchased stocks from lands of a poor quality 
Water has also its eflPect upon cattle, which, if removed from pastures 
well supplied with sweet water to those not well furnished with that re- 
quisite, will not only fail to improve, but will rapidly deteriorate. In 
order to render the grazing of cattle profitable, they should be gradually 
changed from inferior pastures to others covered with more choice grass - 
cattle being very fond of variety, they will eat only the best portions of 
the grass, fill themselves speedily, and lie down to chew the cud and 
digest their meal at leisure. This mode of feeding tends greatly to in- 
crease of fat. It is important not to overstock the pastures, and strong 
cattle should be separated from weaker ones; as the more powerful ani- 
mals frequently drive the others around the field, much to the injury of 
the grass, and the annoyance of non-resisting animals. If there are no 
trees in the field, the erection of rubbing-posts will prevent the cattle from 
injuring the fences by using them for that purpose. 

Many highly intelligent graziers recommend a division of the grazing 
farm into four enclosures ; each containing a nearly equal quantity of 
land. One of these enclosures being kept entirely free from stock until 
the grass has attained its full growth, the prime, or fattening cattle, are 
then turned into it, in order that they may cull the choice food ; the second 
best then follow these ; and the young stock next in order. Thus the 
entire herd will feed over the four enclosures in succession — the first 
being kept free from stock until ready for the best cattle — the second is 
appropriated to the best cattle until they are sent to No. 1 — the third is 
pastured by the second best cattle until they are turned into No. 2 — and 
the fourth is devoted to the young cattle until they are sent to No. 3. 
Sheep follow after the young cattle, and crop the grass down to a close 
and even sward ; after which this enclosure is shut up until again ready 
for the prime cattle. It is likewise advisable to divide the fattening en- 
closure by hurdles, by which means the stock may be confined to one- 
half of it at a time, and thus be continually furnished with good, fresh 
pasture. 

Winter stall-feeding. — Two modes are practised by farmers: 1. Con- 
finement in stalls; 2. Confinement in small yards, with open sheds at- 
tached. Eacti shed, together with its yard, has a sufficient capacity for 
two oxen, and is surrounded by a well-built wall, against which, in the 
y.ard, the feed-troughs a^re placed. If the cattle are confined to the stall, 
they require to be fastened with care the first time ; and they must be 
watched for a time to prevent them from injuring themselves by strug- 
gling to get loose, as is occasionally the case. They must also be well 
and comfortably littered, and the feed placed before them in a low manger. 



DOMESTIC OR FARM ANIMALS. 339 

Enrly each morning the dung must be removed from the stalls, and the 
mangers be filled with roots first, and subsequently with well-cured hay. 
At noon,' feed as before ; again, before night sets in ; and, if practicable, 
previous to retiring for the night, stir up the litter, examine whether all 
is right, and put more food before them. By pursuing this plan, the 
cattle will be well fed, and, during the intervals between meals, will lie 
down and rest. Currying has also a beneficial efi'ect upon cattle, and 
their hides should be carefully freed from vermin and other impurities. 
Comfortable accommodations, good ventilation, regularity in feeding, as 
well as in the amount of food given, good and abundant litter, attention 
to cleanliness, and an unstinted supply of pure water, are all desiderata 
in the fattening of cattle, which cannot be too carefully attended to by 
those who have charge of them. Nothing conduces so much to the fatten- 
ing of animals as perfect quiet ; and every means should be used to pro- 
mote rest, ease, and contentment. Formerly, cattle were fattened entirely 
on hay; but this having been found not only a tedious, but also an ex- 
pensive mode, oil- and rape-cake have been largely substituted, and almost 
every variety of esculent. The ruta-baga and sugar-beet are, however, 
preferable to any others of the root-tribe, not only on account of the 
quantity of contained nutriment, but also because they are relished by 
the cattle, which thrive upon them in an extraordinary degree. The 
modern practice of cooking roots for the use of cattle, is much facilitated 
by the employment of various steaming apparatus. Many experiments 
have been made to test the relative nutritive qualities of raw and cooked 
food. The results prove that cooked roots and grain are not more nou- 
rishing than when fed to cattle in the raw state ; but cooked food being 
more easily digested, the animals fed on it are enabled to consume a 
larger quantity, and in this way benefit by its use. Ruminant animals, 
however, profit less from being fed on it, than do those of the non- 
ruminant class, as the horse, the hog, &c. The use of grain will, in a 
»reat measure, depend upon the market-price ; but the practice cannot 
be recommended, unless called for by peculiar circumstances, such as a 
scarcity, or a diseased condition, of esculent roots. 

n. SHEEP. 

Rearing, dfc. — The ewe may breed when fifteen or eighteen months old, 
and at the same age the ram may also be employed to the extent of forty or 
fifty ewes, and, when older, to seventy or eighty. 

The young lambs should be brought forth at a time when there will be a 
sufficient supply of food for the dam to enable her to yield a copious supply 
of milk ; and also for the lambs, as they advance in growth. The usual 



340 farmer's hand-book. 

period is from the middle of October to November, in which case the ewee 
will begin to lamb soon after the beginning of March. No preparation ia 
necessary, except, for a few weeks before, to place the ewes on somewhat 
better pasture than usual. 

The period of lambing having commenced, the attendant should carefully 
observe every ewe tliat appears to be in labor. The attendant should not 
be in haste to render assistance, until the strength of the ewe appears to he 
declining. If she is to be driven to the fold, it must be done gently as pos- 
sible. Before assistance is given, first see that the foetus is coming in a 
proper position, which is with the head crouched between the fore-legs ; if 
wrong, it must be turned to the proper position. In the case of twin lambs, 
the one which is least advanced must be put back, and the extraction of the 
other assisted. If the fcetus be dead, it should be extracted immediately. 

The keep of sheep after lambing, when rich pastures, or other kinds of 
grass lands, cannot be reserved, should consist of turnips, or other kinds of 
green food. The ewes should also have a dry, quiet, and sheltered pasture, 
protected from the severity of the weather. High feeding should be allowed 
them, but not while pregnant. 

Castrating. — Castration of the male lambs should be performed when 
they are ten days or a fortnight old. They should be in perfect health, and 
the weather fine, but not warm. An incision is made into the scrotum on 
each side, through which the testicles are successively protruded, and they 
are taken away by severing the spermatic cord. 

Weaning. — The period of weaning differs according to the locality of 
the farm, and the quality of the pasture. In a mountainous situation, and 
where the land is inferior, weaning often takes place when the Iambs are 
not more than three months old, for it requires all the intermediate time to 
the beginning of winter to bring the ewes either ready for the ram or fatted 
for the market. The time is generally from the first to the middle of July, 
and the lambs are simply separated from the ewes. It is necessary to take 
away a portion of the ewe's milk, at intervals, to prevent injurious disten- 
sion of the udder. Dry them by degrees. 

After being weaned, the lambs are named according to their sex and age. 
The males are called hoggets, or hogs, the rams being termed tup-hogs, the 
castrated males wether-hogs, and the ewes ewe-hogs. 

It is important that the lambs be put into a good pasture in the summer, 
to make up for the loss of the milk of the dam. When the grass begins to 
fail, they are to be supplied with turnips plentifully, which, with hay, are 
to be their food during winter. 

Shearing. — This is an annual operation, usually taking place at the end 
of May or first of June, — the precise period depending on the state of the 



DOMESTIC OR FARM ANIMALS. 341 

animals, those in a high condition being ready sooner than those that are 
lean, — the wool coming off readily at that time, when plucked, this being 
the proper criterion. About a week previously to shearing, the animals 
are to be washed, to free the wool from all impurities. Everything being 
prepared, a sheep is handed to the first operator, who seizes it and pulls it 
into the water, and immediately turns it over on its back, holding the arm 
of the fore leg with the left hand, and grasping a portion of the wool at the 
side of the head with his right hand, turning the sheep over from side to 
side, at the same time pulling it gently backwards and forwards from and to 
him. at every successive turning ; the wool waves up and down in the direc- 
tion of the length of the body, and swirls round the body, first in one 
direction and then in another ; the sheep is then handed to another operator, 
who repeats the process and hands the animal to another person, and he who 
handles it last examines the fleece. 

After being washed, the sheep are put into a clean grass field ; the fleece 
will soon dry, after which the sheep may be shorn-; though it is better to 
wait about a week, in order that the oil may be brought again into the 
wool, without which the latter loses its peculiar lustre with the loss of the 
yolk. 

When the sheep are to be shorn, they are put into some enclosed space ; 
a winnow-cloth, or large sheet, of some kind, is spread on the floor, and 
fastened down at the corners. The shearer then sets the sheep on its rump, 
in which position it is kept by resting against his legs. In this position, the 
wool is removed from the head and neck, and the operator afterwards clips 
in a circular direction from the belly to the back ; the animal is then laid on 
its side, and kept down by the leg of the shearer, who clips the fleece all 
around the back. All dirty portions of the wool about the tail and belly ought 
to be removed by the shears, and kept by themselves. The outside of the 
fleece is folded inwards, beginning with the side, and narrowing the whole 
fleece into a stripe of about two feet in breadth. This stripe is then rolled 
firmly up, from the tail-end towards the neck, the wool of which ia 
stretched out and twisted into a rope, and wound around the fleece, to give 
it a cylindrical shape. The clippings are steeped in water and washed by 
the hand, and afterwards dried in the sun. 

In using the shears, they should be held close to the sheep, with their 
points a little elevated ; every stroke should be short and narrow, to make 
a clean clip. Keep the shears sharp by a whetstone. 

Different names are again applied to the sheep after being shorn. They 
are now shearlings, shearling-wethers, shearling-ewes, and shearling-tups 
or rams ; the wethers are also called dinmonts, and the ewes gimmers. 

The ewes, or gimmers. are kept on the pastures during the second season 
29* 



342 farmer's hand-book. 

and such as are intended for breeders receive the ram at the proper season. 
The wethers, or dinmonts, are fit for the butcher soon after being shorn. 
But it is only in the case of the more improved breeds being reared, and the 
supply of food of the last description, that the dinmonts are thus disposed 
of at this early period. More frequently they are kept on the farm for 
another winter, when the management is the same as during the first year. 
The dinmonts, however, are frequently sold fat before they have completed 
the entire winter's feeding ; and when not disposed of at this period, they 
are sold after being a second time shorn. 

The details of the rearing and treatment of sheep on arable farms have 
now been given at length. But frequently, instead of the animals being 
produced and fattened on the farm, the operations of the farmer may be 
either confined to breeding sheep and disposing of them before they become 
fat, to pass into other hands before they come to the butcher, or they may 
be confined to fattening sheep, always purchasing the stock from the 
breeder. In situations, however, where the breeding and feeding of sheep 
can be carried on with equal advantage, they may, with economy, be com- 
bined on the same farm. 

Animals for the Market. — But instead of rearing all the animals to the 
age of one or two years, the lambs are sometimes disposed of fat during the 
first summer. In this case, they are fattened merely on the milk of their 
dams. In certain cases, however, the ewes are made to produce the lambs 
at those seasons which are found to suit the adjacent markets best, and the 
lambs are fed in the house. 

Food. — Grass in summer, and turnips and hay in winter, form the chief 
food of sheep, and they are seldom difiicult to procure in favorable 
situations. In the absence of turnips, the different roots cultivated on the 
farm may be substituted with advantage. Salt should always be supplied 
to sheep. 

Sheep in Mountainous Sections. — The management of sheep in mountain- 
ous sections sometimes differs, in some respects, from that described. The 
food is here not so abundant, nor so good, and the sheep must be of hardy 
constitution. The period of putting the ram to the ewes is also somewhat 
later, in order that the lambs may not be brought forth until the season is 
advanced, and the herbage well sprung up. During the winter, when not 
too severe, the sheep are kept on the pasture, and in stormy weather they 
have an allowance of hay, and roots when they can be produced. The 
operations of lambing, castrating, weaning, and shearing, are the same in 
both cases. 

Smearing. — The operation of smearing may be regarded as peculiar to 
the mcurtain races of sheep. This is performed with a view to destroy the 



DOMESTIC OR FARM ANIMALS. 343 

vermin, and protecting the animals from the inclemency of the weather. It 
is. however, injurious to the wool, but doubtless destroys vermin, and 
prevents diseases of the skin. The usual substances employed are tar and 
butter, — a gallon of the former to six pounds of the latter, — which is 
sufficient for twenty sheep. Combinations of tar with other substances are 
also employed, such as oil, soda, and even potatoes boiled and pounded, the 
effect of which is to render the tar more easy of separation from the wool. 
Whatever composition is used, it should be rubbed in streaks on the skin, 
without daubing the wool. The usual time of doing it is in the first part 
of November. 

Signs of Good Health. — The appearances which show the sheep to be in 
good health are, a rather wild or lively briskness ; a brilliant clearness in 
the eye ; a florid, ruddy color on the inside of the eyelids, nostrils, and 
gums ; a fastness in the teeth ; a sweet breath ; a dryness of the nose and 
eyes; easy and regular breathing; coolness in the feet; dang properly 
formed ; fleece firmly attached to the skin, and unbroken ; and the skin 
exhibiting a florid-red appearance. A discharge from the nose or eyes 
indicates having taken cold. 

Improvement of Breeds. — In selecting a breed of sheep the farmer 
should be governed by the nature of his pasture-lands, and the means he 
has iit command for supplying them with prepared food. A mountain 
breed will not prove profitable upon a valley farm ; nor will a lowland 
breed of sheep thrive well on hill-side pastures. After selecting a breed, 
the next point for careful attention is the propagation of lambs ; for 
which purpose the best sheep in the flock should be selected. Early 
maturity and a disposition to acquire fat are of importance when meat 
only is the object sought ; but these qualities are of secondary import- 
ance to the wool-grower, who looks rather to the fine texture of the fleece, 
the hardy nature of the animals, and their healthy condition. Breeding- 
in should be practised only to a moderate extent, as, when carried too 
far, it tends to make the sheep sickly and delicate. When unduly prac- 
tised, Nature rebels against it ; the sheep cease to produce wool in suffi- 
cient quantity, the ewes stop giving milk, and the rams lose their viri- 
lity. Crossing with the best breeds of another stock is the only remedy 
in cases of this kind ; which is a matter of easy accomplishment, since 
there is a plentiful supply of superior rams in all of the breeds now 
reared. 

Form. — Proneness to acquire fat at an early age may be distinguished by 
certain external characteristics, as may also the wool-bearing qualities, 
which are of such great importance to the breeder. A disposition to 
fatten is indicated by general rotundity of form, small bones, well-arched 



344 FARMER'S HAND BOOK. 

ribs, and broad, flat, and straight biick and loins. The body should be 
proportionally larger than the limbs, the chest well set, the belly straight, 
the head small, and the ears thin. The legs should be fleshy to the 
joint; thence tapering downward, delicate, and covered with short hair; 
the wool soft-feeling, thick, and growing well forward on the face, but 
not covering it ; the skin soft, and elastic to the touch ; the face and fore- 
head thickly covered with short hair; and the eyes clear and bright. 

Age may be ascertained by examining the front teeth, which are eight 
in number, and make their appearance during the first year, when they 
are all of small size. The following year the two middle teeth are super- 
seded by two others of larger size. During the third year, two other 
small teeth, one on each side, are shed, and their place filled by two large 
ones. At this time there are four large teeth in front, flanked by two 
pointed ones. The fourth year the large teeth are six in number, and 
but two small teeth remain — one at each side. These disappear during 
the fifth year, when all the front teeth are large. Signs of wear are 
visible early in the sixth year; and during the seventh year (sometimes 
even earlier) they begin to fall out, or are broken off. 

Wool, and its Characteristics. — Fineness of pile first attracts attention, 
and is of greater importance than any other property, with the exception 
of quantity. The wool covering the ribs, back, shoulders, and side of 
the neck, is considered the finest; and next in order is that clothing the 
upper parts of the legs and thighs, and extending up to within a short 
distance of the haunch and tail. A coarser kind of wool covers the 
upper part of the neck, the throat, breast, belly, and lower parts of the 
legs. Temperature, pasture, food, and general management exert a great 
influence on the fineness and quality of wool ; and the value of the sheep 
is in proportion to the equal quality of the wool on all parts of its body. 
Soundness and elasticity are likewise very important properties, more 
especially in long wool, in which they are indispensable requisites. Fine 
wool has a perfectly regular fibre, and is free from coarse hairs ; and 
fineness of staple is always accompanied by an equal growth of wool 
over all parts of the animal, and marked by an absence of those shaggy 
spots observable on poor and half-fed sheep. Felting on the back of the 
sheep very much injures the quality of wool ; and, though this is a fre- 
quent occurrence among heavy breeds, yet it is more commonly the result 
of neglect and a scanty supply of food. Another desirable quality is 
softness of pile, which, in the opinion of manufacturers, cannot be too 
soft and silky, provided the strength remains unimpaired. This qual'ty 
measurably depends on the fineness of the fibre; and as the yolk imparts 
richness and pliability, as well as nourishment, to the wool, it necessarily 



DOMESTIC OR FARM ANIMALS. 



34( 



exerts some influence on the softness of the pile. The color of wool, 
though of minor is yet of no trifling importance ; for the purchaser never 
loses sight of the qualities of purity and perfect whiteness. 



VARIETIES. 

Tartar. — This is a valuable breed, for sometime introduced into 
the United States. They are a medium-sized animal, with agreeably- 
expressive faces, prominent noses, ears drooping forward, and covered 
with short, but very fine, glossy, silken hair. The principal value of this 
animal consists in its remarkable powers of procreation — the ewes pro- 
ducing lambs twice each year, and from three to four, and not unfre- 
quently five at a time. The quality of the mutton being of the highest 
order, devoid of woolly or other disagreeable taste, and possessing a 
delicacy resembling venison, with their capacity for furnishing lambs at 
all seasons of the year, make them of great value to those whose chief 
object is to breed for the butcher. 
LoNG-wooLED. — The long-wooled sheep are of the largest size. The 

Fig. 208. 




New Leicester or Dishley breed stands deservedly at the head of the list 
and, indeed, for symmetry of shape, early maturity, and attaining: to a cob 



346 



FARMER S HAND-BOOK. 



siderable size, it stands unrivaled. The preceding figure is a very fair 
specimen. 

This breed owes its origin to the late Mr. Bakewell, a celebrated breeder, 
of Dishley, in Leicestershire, England. It is inferior, in size and quality of 
wool, to many of the larger varieties, but for early maturity and aptitude to 
fatten it has not been surpassed. It should have a tapering head, long, and 
hornless ; eyes prominent, and a quiet expression ; ears thin, long, directed 
backwards ; neck full and broad at its base, gradually tapering towards the 
head, particularly bare at the junction with the head ; the neck seeming to 
project straight from the chest, so that there is, with the slightest possible 
deviation, one continued horizontal line from the rump to the pole ; breast 
broad and full ; shoulders broad and round, — no uneven or angular formation, 
no rising of the withers, no hollow behind the situation of these bones ; arm 
fleshy throughout, even down to the knee ; bones of the leg small, standing 
wide apart, — no looseness of skin about them, and rather bare of wool ; 
chest and barrel deep and round ; ribs forming a considerable arch from the 
spine ; the barrel ribbed well home ; carcass gradually diminishing in width 
towards the rump ; quarters long and full ; legs medium length ; pelt mod- 
erately thin, soft, elastic, covered with a good quantity of fine, white wool. 
The principal races of this breed are the New Leicester, the Lincolnshire, 
Teeswater, Devonshire Notts, Romney Marsh, and the Cotswold- Fig, 
209 is a portrait of one of the latter. 

Fia-. 209. 




Short- wooLED. — The short-wooled varieties of sheep are very numerous, 



DOMESTIC OR FARM ANIMALS, 



347 



and are also distinguished generally by sraallness of size. They are 
hardier than the larger sheep, yet, with few exceptions, not so well calcu- 
lated for the exposed and mountainous sections. The Cheviot and South- 
Down are very generally diffused varieties of this class, both kinds being 
hornless. Fig. 210 is a South-Down ewe and lamb, of the most improved 
Bort. 

Fig. 210. 




The points in this valuable breed are principally as follows : — The head 
should be neither too long nor too short ; the lip thin ; the neck moderately 
long, thin next to the head, and tapering towards the shoulders ; breast 
wide and deep, projecting forward before the fore-legs, which indicates a 
good constitution and disposition to feed ; the shoulders not too wide 
between the plate-bones, but on a level with the chine ; chine low and 
straight from the shoulders to the tail ; the ribs should project horizontally 
from the chine, as the animal will then lay its meat on the prime parts ; the 
sides high and parallel ; rump long and broad ; the tail set on high, and 
nearly on a level with the chine ; hips wide ; ribs circular, and barrel- 
shaped ; legs neither very long nor very short; the bones moderately fine. 

Black-faced. — The Black-faced or Heath sheep are distinguished by 
black faces and legs, and large and spirally-twisted horns. The female is 
however, frequently hornless. The fleece is long, coarse, and shaggy, 
extending over the forehead and lower jaw. This is an active and hardy 
race, capable of subsisting in the most exposed situatious, producing mutton 
of excellent quality, though not generally fattened till four or five years old. 



348 



farmer's hand-book. 



Their wool is not so valuable as that of the Cheviots. Fig. 211 represents 
one of the black-faced race. 

Fig. 211. 




•Merino. — This celebrated and most useful breed are distinguished by 
Jie fineness and felting quality of their wool, and the weight yielded by 
each sheep, — the ease with which they adapt themselves to the climate, the 
readiness with which they take to the coarsest food, their gentleness and 
tractability. Their defects are their unprofitable and unthrifty form, 
Toracitv of appetite, a tendency to barrenness, neglect of their young, and 

Fig. 212. 




inferior flavor of the munon. The wool, lying closer and thicker over the 
body than in most other breeds of sheep, and being abundant in yolk, is 
covered with a dirtv crust, often full of cracks. The legs are long, yet 



D03IESTIC OR FARM ANIMALS. 349 

small in the bone ; the breast and back narrow, and the sides somewhat flat ; 
the fore-shoulders and bosoms are heavy, and too much of their weight is 
carried on the coarser parts. The horns of the male are comparatively 
large, curved, more or less spiral ; head large, but forehead rather low. 
A few of the females are homed, but, generally speaking, are destitute. 
Both male and female have a peculiar coarse and unsightly growth of hair 
on the tbrehead and cheeks ; the other part of the face has a pleasing and 
characteristic velvet appearance. Under the throat there is a singula- 
looseness of skin, whicli gives them a remarkable appearance of throati- 
ness, or hollowness in the pile ; the pile, when pressed upon, is hard and 
unyielding, on account of the thickness with which it grows upon the pelt, 
and the abundance of the yolk detaining all the dirt and gravel which fall 
upon it, though, when examined, the fibre exceeds in fineness, and in the 
number of serrations and curves, that which any other sheep in the world 
produces. Fig. 212 is a representation of the Merino breed. 

III. SWINE. 

Breeding and Rearing. — These animals arrive early at maturity. The 
sow is fit to receive the male when little more than eight months old, and the 
latter is capable of propagating at the same early period ; but neither of 
them should be allowed to be used for the purposes of breeding until they 
have completed their first year, and the male should be admitted only to a 
limited number of females for some time after. The period of gestation in 
the sow is about sixteen weeks ; and the number of young produced at a 
birth varies from five to ten or twelve, sometimes even to eighteen or 
twenty, and two litters are produced in the year, or even five in two years. 

She is ready to receive the male soon after the birth of her young, but the 
period of impregnation should be regulated by that at which it is desirable 
the young should be produced. The winter is a bad season. The periods 
of impregnation should be about the beginning of October and April, as the 
young will then be produced in February and August, so that the last litter 
will have gained full strength before the approach of winter. 

1'he pregnant sow should be separated from the herd, but should not be 
entirely confined. The period of bringing forth will be generally known by 
the animal carrying straw in her mouth to make her bed some time previous ; 
and she must then be well littered with short straw, for, when profusely 
littered with long straw, the young pigs are liable to be injured or killed by 
the mothers, while they are nestling unperceived under the straw. 

Treatment of Dam and Young. — The young animals, being extremely 
tender, are liable to be destroyed immediately after their birth by the mo- 
30 



350 farmer's hand-book. 

tion of the dam ; and, to guard against this, they should be watohed, and 
the young ones removed from her as they are brought forth. During the 
first and second day after the birth of the young, or until they af*,quire 
strengtli, they should be removed from the dam, and only occasionally 
admitted to suck. While nursing, she should be well fed, and the pigs 
accustomed to feed from a trough on milk, whey, or any liquid food, 
mixed with a little meal or bran. 

Castrating. — The males may be castrated when about a month old ; and 
a like operation, though not absolutely necessary, may be performed, at tho 
same age, on such of the females as are not intended for breeding. 

Weaning. — The period of weaning is regulated by the manner in which 
the young pigs have been fed ; and, when they have been liberally supplied 
with food, it need not be deferred longer than six or seven weeks ; for, when 
delayed beyond this, the sow will be in low condition as the time of bringing 
forth her young again approaches. 

Treatment after Weaning. — When weaned, the young pigs should be 
fed three times a day on nutritious and chiefly farinaceous food, combined 
with milk or whey ; and, in a few weeks, they will consume the ordinary 
roots cultivated upon the farm. In some instances, the young pigs are dis- 
posed of while they are sucking, especially when tlie number brought forth 
is greater than the dam can perfectly support ; and, when intended for being 
killed, they are then termed porkers, or roasters. 

The young pigs, after being weaned, are sometimes allowed to go at 
large through the pastures, and have to depend on these chiefly for their food. 
In this case, they frequently do great injury to the fields The best plan is 
to confine them in pens, allowing them occasionally to go through the feed- 
ing-yard, to pick up any refuse food scattered through it : and, in addition to 
this, supply them with a little green food, as clover during summer, and 
turnips or potatoes during winter. 

Food. — The food of swine may be of a more varied character than that 
of any other animal. Every kind of animal refuse, as that of the dairy and 
kitchen, is eagerly consumed by them ; — roots, raw or boiled ; different 
kinds of seeds ; brewers' grains, and the wash of the distillery. It is im- 
portant that they should be liberally and regularly supplied with food. They 
ought to be fed three times in the day ; and the troughs should be emptied 
before a fresh supply is given, and washed out occasionally, so as to keep 
them clean. The hog delights to wallow in the mire, but prefers a clean 
bed at night. The food should be varied — lianid and solid. 

Disposition of the Carcass. — The flesh of the hog may be disposed of in 
two ways. The one is to yield pork, and the other to produce bacon. In 



DOMESTIC OR FARM ANIMALS. 



351 



the former case, the age seldom exceeds six or eight months and in the 
latter, ten or twelve. 

When the substances employed in fattening have been juicy rather than 
nutritious, the flesh will be much improved by feeding with bran-meal, ' 
mixed with the other food, for some time previous to killing the animals. 
This is more essential in producing bacon, as it tends to harden the flesh, 
and render it of that mellow firmness which constitutes the essential property 
of fine hams and bacon. Some time previous to the period of killing the 
animal, therefore, the food may consist of about two thirds of steamed pota- 
toes, or other roots, and one third of ground pease, barley, oats, or bran, 
enlarging the quantity of farinaceous food as the animal fattens. 

An important matter in the management of swine is the preservation of 
the flesh after the animals are killed. In the case of pickling pork, the 
carcass is cut in pieces, and packed. A solution of salt in water is prepared, 
strong enough to swim an egg, which is to be boiled, and, as soon as it has 
cooled again, it is poured on the pork, so as to cover it. The vessel is now 
closed up, and the pork ready for market. 

In the making of bacon, the hams or legs are separated from the flitches 
or sides, as close to the latter as possible without injuring their appearance. 
The body is then separated from the head, and cut longitudinally in the 
direction of the back-bone, and then transversely between the second and 
third ribs. The hams and flitches are then laid on boards, sprinkled with 




saltpetre, and covered with salt, — better if rubbed in by the hands. Put them 
in a cool place, and in this stall let them remain about a week, after which 



352 



FARMER S HAND-BOOK. 



they should be turned, and an additional quantity of salt sprinkled over 
them. In about two or three weeks from the period of the first salting, they 
may be hung up in the chimney of the kitchen, or in a smoke-house, to dry. 
In Westphalia, and some other places noted for the flavor of the hams pro- 
duced, sugar is commonly used in curing, in the proportion of about one 
pound of sugar to three of salt, and two ounces of saltpetre. The sugar 
assists in preserving the meat, rendering its fibre mellow, and corrects the 
extreme pungency which is often occasioned by the too free use of salt. In 
every case, after the hams and flitches have remained hanging a sufiicienl 
time todry them, they are taken down, and packed up in seeds from the mill, 
or sawdust, in which they remain until required for use. The proper period 
for curing bacon is during the cold weather. 

In order that those who are unacquainted with the anatomy of the pig may 
possess the means of informing themselves in regard to that subject, we give 
the preceding skeleton, explained as follows : — 



The Head. 

A. Maxilla inferior, vel posterior — lower 
jaw. 

B. Denies — the teeth. 

C. Ossa nasi — the nasal bones. 

D. Maxilla superior, vel anterior — upper 

jaw, 

E. Os frontis — the frontal bone. 

F. Orbiculus — the orbit or socket of the 

eye. 

G. Os occipitis — the occipital bone. 

The Trunk. 

H. Atlas — the first vertebra of the neck. 

I. Vertebrae colli, vel cervicales — the 
vertebrae of the neck. 

J. Vertebrse dorsi, vel dorsales — the ver- 
tebrae of the back. 

K. Vertebrae lumborum, vel lumbales — 
the vertebrse of the loins. 

L. Ossa coccygis — the bones of the tail. 

Fo7-e Extremity. 
a. Scapula — the shoulder-blade. 



b. Humerus — the round shoulder bone. 

c. Sternum — the breast bone. 

d. Ulna — the elbow. 

e. Radius — the bone of the fore-arm. 

f. Os naviculare — the navicular bone. 

g. g. Phalanges, vel ossa pedis — the first 

and second bones of the foot. 
h. Phalanges, vel ossa pedis — the bonea 
of the hoof. 

Hind Extremities. 

i. i. Pelvis (ossa innominata) — thehauuch 

bones. 
j. j. Os femoris — the thigh bone. 
k. k. Patella — the stifle bone. 
I. I. Tibia — the upper bone of the leg. 
m. m. Tarsus (one of which is the (N) 

os calcis) — the hock bones. 
n. n. Os naviculare —7 the navicular bone. 
0. o. Digiti, vel phalanges (ossa pedis) — 

the first digits of the foot. 
p. p. Digiti, vel phalanges (ossa pedis) 

— the second digits of the foot. 



VARIETIES. 



China. — The Chinese breed was originally obtained from Asia. There 
are two distinct species, the white and the black ; the former better shaped 



DOMESTIC OR FARM ANIMALS. 



353 



ihan the latter, but less hardy and prolific. Both are smaii-limbed, ears and 
head fine, round in the carcass, thin-skinned, and the head so imbedded in 
the neck, that when quite fat, the end only of the snout can be seen. They 
seldom reach a very great weight ; they are rather difficult to rear, and the 
sows are bad nurses. Their flesh is somewhat tender for bacon, has rather 
too large a proportion of fat, and their hind-quarters are so deficient in pro- 
portion to the size of the other parts, that they cut up to considerable disad- 
vantage for hams. But their great aptitude to fatten, aivl the extreme 
delicacy of their meat, — which, when young, is unrivaled, — render them 
»ery valuable. 

Pig. 2U. 




The black race are thrifty, ano tatten on a comparatively small quantity 
of food ; which valuable properties are so desirable that, notwithstanding 
their small size, they are crossed with other breeds to a very considerable 
advantage, producing several kinds possessing properties superior to those 
of the parent stock. They are also very prolific. 

There is also a mixed breed, patched with black and white, — some with 
thick, pointed ears, like the true species, which they otherwise resemble in 
form, while in others the ears are rounded, and hang down. 

Berkshire. — The Berkshire hog is of a reddish-brown color, with black 
spots ; the head well placed, with large ears, generally standing lor ward, 
though sometimes hanging over. He is short-legged, small-boned, and of a 
"id* ^ 



354 



farmer's hand-book. 



rough, curly coat. Their bacon is very superior, and the animals «ttaiu to 
Ik great size. 

Fig. 215. 




Pig. 216. 




DOMESTIC OR FARM ANIMALS. 



355 



The crosses of this breed are so numerous, that any attempt to distin- 
guish them, and particularize as to their merits, would be futile. Fig. 215. 

Suffolk. — The Suffolk breed has been long in repute as a hardy and 
prolific species, though generally of only moderate or rather small size ; and 
when crossed with either the Berkshire or Dishley breed, produces animals 
which are in very general esteem. They fatten quickly, but their shape la 
not considered altogether valuable for making bacon. Fig. 216 is an ex- 
ample of an animal of this breed. 

WoBURN. — The Woburn breed is white, mixed with various colors, well- 
formed, round in the carcass, small limbed and headed, hardy, and very 
prolific, and so kindly disposed to fatten, that they are said to have attained 
to nearly twice the weight of some other hogs, within the same given period 
of time. 

Siamese. — The widely-diffused breed known by this term, on account of 
its origin, is worthy of notice in this place. The animals are small, and 
have a cylindrical body, with the back somewhat hollow, and the belly 
trailing near the ground, on account of the shortness of the limbs. The 

Pig. 217. 




bristles are soft, the color is usually black, and the skin externally of a rich 
copper-color. The ears are short, small, and somewhat erect. The ani- 
mals are not over-hardy or prolific, and the females do not yie'd the same 



356 farmer's hand-book. 

quantity of milk ; but they arrive very soon at maturity, they fatten on a 
small quantity of food, and their flesh is white and delicate. 

IV. THE HORSE. 

Rearing and Breeding. — In the breeding of the horse, it is important 
that the parent, of either sex, be free from disease ; for the diseases, as well 
as the good properties, of the animal, are transmitted to their offspring. In 
breeding, attention should be paid to the female as well as to the male 
parent, else disappointment may result with respect to the form and proper- 
lies of the progeny. 

A mare is capable of receiving the male at an early age ; but it is an 
error to commence breeding from any mare before strength has been ac- 
quired, and her form developed, — which will rarely be sooner than at three 
or four years of age. The mare comes into season in spring, and goes with 
young about eleven months, although with an irregularity, even to the ex- 
tent of several weeks on either side of that period. The most convenient 
time for her receiving the male is in May, that she may foal in April, when 
the herbage begins to spring. From the time she receives the male till that 
of foaling, the farm mare may be kept at her usual work. She will give 
notice of the period of foaling, by the extension of the udder, and other 
symptoms, and she may then be released from work. In general, little 
difficulty or danger attends the parturition of the mare. She rarely requires 
assistance ; but, should difficulty really arise, from the particular position 
of the foetus, it is well to obtain the assistance of a practised hand, lest the 
mare be injured by unskilful and violent means. As soon as the mare has 
foaled, she shoald be placed with her young, either in a house, or, what is 
better, in a pasture-close, with a shed to which she may go at all times. It 
is necessary, at this period, to supply her with nourishing food. It is bet- 
ter that the mother be kept in a field, and permitted to suckle the young 
undisturbed. But yet she may be put', without danger or injury, to mod- 
erate work, within a short time after foaling. For a time, the foal should be 
shut up in a house during the hours of work, which then should not be too 
long ; but, after the colt has acquired a little strength, it may be permitted 
to follow the mother even when at work in the field. Many, indeed, do 
not approve of this practice, on account of the chance of accidents to the 
foEU.. But accidents seldom occur, and the foal has an opportunity of taking 
milk more frequently, is the better for exercise, and becomes useil to the 
objects around it. In nine days or more after foaling, the mare will be 
again in season, and tnay receive the male. 

Weaning. — In six months, the foal is to be weaned, which is done merely 
by separating it from the dam. It is then best put in a field. The mother 



DOMESTIC OR FARM ANIMALS. 35t 

is then put to her ordinary work, and treated as usual. At the time of 
weaning, and during all the period of its growth, the foal should be liber^ 
ally fed. Bruised oats, meal, or any farinaceous food, may be given to it. 
It is not necessary or proper that it be pampered, but it is important to ita 
growth and vigor tl it it be supplied with sufficient food. 

Castrating. — Tlie male foal intended for agricultural purposes must be 
castrated, and the best time for the operation is at one year old. Some do 
it before weaning, but it is better that it be delayed till the masculine form 
of the animal has been more developed. The details of this operation must 
be left to the experienced practitioner. Little improvement has been effected 
on the old mode, except the opening of the scrotum, and the division of the 
cord by the knife, instead of the heated iron. 

Training and Management of Colls. — If the colt be intended for the sad- 
dle, it is well that from this period it be accustomed to gentle handling by 
the person who feeds it, to render it docile and good-tempered. Anything 
like harshness is to be carefully avoided. The colts are kept in their pas- 
tures during the summer, and when these fail before winter, the animals 
may be put into a yard with sheds, and plentifully littered with straw. 
They may receive straw for half the winter, and hay towards spring, when 
the straw becomes dry and unpalatable ; and turnips, or any green food, 
should be supplied freely in the winter. They should have a piece of 
ground on which they may run in winter, on account of their health and the 
state of their feet. As early in spring as the pastures will allow, they are 
to be turned out to graze in the fields, where they are to be kept during 
summer, and in the following winter treated in the same manner as before. 
They are also to be treated in a similar manner in the following summer and 
winter, after which, that is, when three years old, they will be in a condition 
\ti be broken in ; and, if draught-horses, employed in the work of the farm, 
they may be taken up for training even in the third autumn of their age, 
though at this period the work should be very gentle. 

A farm-horse usually receives little training ; but the colt should have 
a bridle with an easy bit put upon him for a few days, and allowed to 
champ it for an hour or two at a time, in a stall. The harness being then 
put upon him by degrees, he may be trained to the different labors required 
of him. In general, the farm-horse, working with his fellows, is easily 
made obedient. But when a farm-horse is four or five years old before he 
is put to work, or if he is a stallion, or if he shows any vice, he should 
have more training. And if a valuable horse, and fit also for the saddle 
and the carriage, the more training the better. In every case, gentlenesa 
and kind treatment are to be strictly observed in the management of the 
colt. He is first to be taught his duties, and corrected afterwards only 



358 



farmer's hand-book. 



when necessary to secure submission, fear being the feeling which con- 
trols the animal. The farm -horse demands, neither in the training nor 
in the feeding, that, nicety which is required in the case of the horse de- 
signed for rapid motion or irregular labor. He must be kept in good 
order, never to be worked beyond his power, and never be allowed to 
fall, in condition, below the work which he is to perform. 

Food. — The food of the horse consists of herbage, or green forage ; of 
dried forage, as hay and straw ; of various farinaceous substances, as oats. 



EXPLANATION OP SKELETON OF A HORSE. 



A, Cervical Vertebra, 
B B, Dorsal Vertebrae, 

C, Lumbar Vertebrae, 

D, Sacrum, 

E E Consygeal Bones, 

F F, Ribs, 

G, Costal Cartilages, 

H, Scapula, 

I, Humerus, 

K K, Radius, 

L, Ulna, 

M, Carpus or Knee, 

1, Scaphoid, 

2, Senilunar, 

3, Cuneiform, 

4, Trapezium, 

5, Trapezoid, 

6, Os Magnum, 

7, Uneiform, 

8, Pisiform, 



N N. Large Metacarpal 
or Cannon. 

0, Small Metacarpal or 
"Splint Bones," 

P P, Sesamoid Bones, 

Q Q. Phalanges, [Bone, 

1, Os Sufifraginis or Pastern 

2, Os Coronas, 

3, Os Pedis, 

1, 2, 3, Phalanges, 
R, Pelvis, 

1, Ileum, 

2, Puvis, 

3, Ischiam, 
S, Femur, 
T, Patella, 
U, Tibia, 
V, Fibula, 
W, Hock, 

1, Os Calais, 



2, Astragalus, 

3, Cuneiform Magnum, 

4, " Medium, 

5, " Parvum, 

6, Cuboid, 

3, C, Cubo Cuneiform, 
X, Large Metatarsal, 
1, 2, 3, Phalanges, 
y, Small Metatarsal, 
Z, Head, 

1, Inferior Maxila, 

2, Superior do, 

3, Anterior do, 

4, Nasal Bone, 

5, Malar, 6, Frontal, 
r. Parietal, 

8, Occipital, 

9, Lachrymal, 

10, Squamous )^gj^p^,j^_ 

11, Petrous ) 



A 



DOMESTIC OR FARM ANIMALS. 



S59 



peas, and beans ; and of the juicy roots, as the potato, the turnip, the carrot, 
the parsnip, and the beet. Of the grains given to the horse, the most gen- 
eral, and best adapted to his strength and spirit, is the oat. It is, for the 
most part, given to the horse without any preparation, though it is better 
masticated and digested when bruised. Two gallons per day, or nine 
pounds, are considered to be good feeding, when the horse is on dry food, 
and not on hard work ; when on hard work, the quantity may be increased 
to three gallons, and when on light work and green food, it may be reduced 
•o one gallon, and sometimes altogether withdrawn. But, on an average, 
ninety bushels in the year will be sufficient, in every case, for the working 
horse of a farm. Meal is a Refreshing feed to a horse on a journey, and a 
safe one when the chill is just taken off the water. Beans, when bruised^ 
are excellent food, tending to correct laxativeness. 

Fig. 218 is explanatory of the name and situation of the external parts 
of a horse. 

VARIETIES. 

Arabian. — The celebrated Arabian breed of horses, of which the figure 
presented below is a fine portrait, are more compact than the horses of 
Baibary, having a rounder body, shorter limbs, with more of sinew, oi 

Fig. 219. 




»vhat is termed bone. Yet they are of the smaller class of horses, very 
little exceeding, on a medium, fourteen hands, or fifty-six inches, in height. 
As compared with the horses of countries abounoing in grasses, their aspect 
is lean, their form slender, their chest narrow. The power of their deli- 
cate limbs is indicated by the well-marked muscles of the fore-arm, and 
the starting sinews of the leg The shoulder is oblique ; the withers 



360 



FARMEK'S HAND-BOOK. 
Fig. 220. 




POMESTIC OR FARM ANIMALS. 



361 



are elevated ; the back is moderately short ; the quarters are good ; the 
head is well formed ; the forehead broad ; ears somewhat long, but alert ; 
eyes full and clear ; veins prominent. They are remarkably gentle and 
dociile, patient, playful, obedient, and intelligent. They subsist on very 
scanty fare. 

American. — The Mexican horses are derived from Spain, and seem in no 
other respect inferior to the European than a less careful management maj' 
account for. The horses of Canada, chiefly of French Hneage, are coarse 
and small, but hardy, muscular, and useful. Those of our own country are 
of every variety, derived originally from England, but crossed by the modern 
racer, and by the horses of Syria and Arabia. On this account, we have a 
very mixed race of horses, many of which are excellent. Such has been 
the attention paid to the race breed in our country, that the best and fastest 
trotting horses (see Fig. 220) in the world are now to be found in the 
United States. Among the American roadsters, the Morgan family stand 
number one. They are exceedingly compact, deep-chested, strong-backed, 
fore-legs set wide apart ; head small, high and graceful , eyes fine, and well 
Bet. The family comprises several varieties, among which the Goss and 
the Gifford rank very high. We give an engraving (Fig. 221) of one of 
these animals, which is a fair sample of the average quality. 

European. — Of the European breeds, the present Norman horse is the 

Fig. 222. 




31 



362 farmer's hand-book. 

most enduring and hard-pulling. The Clydesdale is a valuable breed of cait 
horses, bred chiefly in the valley of the Clyde ; they are strong and hardy, 
have a small head, are longer necked than the Suffolk, with deeper legs, and 
lighter carcasses. The Suffolk Punch are valuable on farms composed of 
soils of a moderate degree of tenacity. The preceding figure is that of an 
improved Norman draught stallion. 

V. THE ASS. 

Rearing and Breeding. — In breeding from the ass, the same general rules 
apply as in the case of the horse. The male will procreate at the age of two 
and a half years, and the female still earlier. The stallion ass should be 
the largest and strongest, at least three, but not more than ten, years old ; his 
legs should be long, his body plump, head long and light, eyes brisk, nostrils 
and chest large, neck long, loins fleshy, ribs broad, rump flat, tail short, 
hair shining, soft, deep gray. 

The best time of covering is the last of May, nor must the female be hard 
worked whilst with foal, for fear of casting; but the more the male is 
worked, in moderation, the better he will thrive. She brings forth her foal 
in about a twelve-month, but, to preserve a good breed, she should not pro- 
duce more than one in two years. The best age to breed at is from threa 
years old to ten. When the foal is cast, it is proper to let it run a year with 
the dam, and then wean it, by tying up and giving it grass, and sometimes 
milk; and, when it has forgotten the teat, it should be turned out into a 
pasture, but if it be in winter, it must be fed at times, till it is able to shift 
for itself. 

Training. — The ass may be broken and trained at the end of the second 
year, but should not be worked sooner than the third year. Breaking is 
easily effected when two or three years old, by laying small weights upon 
his back, and increasing them by degrees. 

Age, dj-c. — The age of the ass is known by his teeth, in the same mannei 
as the horse ; viz., at two years and a half old, the first middle incisive teeth 
fall out, and the others on each side soon follow ; they are renewed at the 
same time, and in the same order. The anatomy and physiology of the ass 
do not differ very materially from those of the horse. 

Characteristics. — The ass is naturally humble, patient, and quiet. He is 
extremely hardy, both as to the quantity and quality of his food, contenting 
himself with the most harsh and disagreeable herbs. Ti; the choice of water, 
he is very nice, drinking only of that which is perfectly clear. He requires 
very little looking after, and sustains labor beyond most others. He is sel- 
dom or never sick, and endures hunger and thirst most resolutely. The 
milk of the ass is the lightest of all milks, and is excellent for persons of 
delica+e stomachs. 



DOMESTIC OR FAHM ANIMALS. 363 

VI. THE MULE. 

Rearing, Breeding, SfC. — In the breedincr of mules, mares of a large breed 
and well made should be employed. They should be young, lively, large- 
barrelled, small-limbed, moderate-sized liead, and a good forehand. It is 
well to have the foals, from the time of their being dropped, often handled, 
to make them gentle ; it prevents their hurting themselves by skittishness 
and sudden frights, and they are much easier broken at the proper age, and 
become docile and harmless. They may be broken at three years old, but, 
not hard worked till four. Give them food enough to prevent their losing 
flesh and to keep up their growth, without palling their appetites with deli- 
cacies, or making them over fat. They should also have sufficient stable 
room, and good litter to sleep on, besides being well rubbed down every day, 
particularly in cold, raw, wet weather. When three years old, mules are 
proper for use. 

Mules are now brought to an astonishing degree of perfection. They are 
usually strong, well-limbed, large, sure-footed, and capable of carrying great 
burdens, and travelling great distances. Some think it surprising that these 
animals are not more propagated, as they are so much hardier and stronger 
than horses, less subject to diseases, and capable of living and working to 
almost twice the age of a horse. Those that are bred in cold countries are 
more hardy and fit for labor than tho.se bred in hot. The general complaint 
against them is that they kick and are stubborn, but this is owing to neglect 
in breeding. 

VIL THE GOAT. 

Description, <Sfc. — The goat appears to be the connecting link between 
the sheep and antelope tribes. It is lively, and though the natural inhabitant 
of a mountainous region, is easily domesticated. But it is in wild, rocky 
countries, that the goat is chiefly reared. The female gives a great quantity 
of milk for so small a creature, and its quality is very superior. She is 
readily taught to suckle the young of other animals, and feeds in situations 
where the cow could not subsist, which latter is a valuable quality. It 
arrives early at maturity, and is very prolific, bearing two and sometimes 
three kids at a birth. It does not produce wool, but its hair may be shorn, 
and is of some value ; and its skin, especially that of the kid, is very valua- 
ble. The flesh of the kid, though not much sought after, is equal to that 
of the finest lamb. 

The male will engender when one year old, and the female at eight months ; 
but good stock must come by parents not so young. From two to five years 
the male is most vigorous, and the female bears her best kids from two to 
eight years. Goats bear well the motion ond confinement of ship-board, and 
give the best of milk. 



364 



farmer's hand-book. 



VARIETIES. 

There are three principal species enumerated, viz., the wild goat, tht 
ibex, and the Caucasian ibex ; from the first-named the different varieties of 
the common domestic goat are believed to have originated. Perhaps the 
most celebrated and valuable of all the various breeds is the Thibet 



Fig. 223. 




(Fig. 223), on account of the soft and delicate wool they produce, and which 
falls off in the warmer seasons. These goats are long-bodied, large hooked 
horns, stout limbs, and very long glossy hair. The color is frequently milk- 
white, but more generally brown, with points of a golden hue. 

VIII. THE DOG. 
Rearing, Breeding, dfc. — In breeding, for first-rate animals, ascertain the 
pedigree for at least four generations. The male should be not less than 
two years old, and the female at least fifteen months. The male need not 
be rejected as unfit until his eighth year, if healthy and vigorous, nor the 
female, under similar circumstances, till her sixth year. The female goea 



DOMESTIC OR FARM ANIMALS. 365 

with young sixty-three days, and has from four to thirteen young at a birth. 
The dam may be allowed to breed only three times in two years, and to rear 
not more than five puppies ; the whelps should not be suckled longer than six 
weeks, and five, or even four, is long enough, if necessary to remove them. 
After weaning, feed them moderately with porridge, mashed potatoes, with 
skim milk, or new milk, to dilute the mess ; let it be fresh and cool. They 
should also have a bed of clean straw, fresh water, and an open, airy place 
for exercise and sport. 

At about four months old, the fir.st set of teeth begin to drop out, and are 
replaced by the permanent set. About the twelfth month, the tusks have 
acquired their full length. At two years old, a yellow circle appears around 
the base of the tusks, gradually developing itself more and more, till the 
third year, when the edges of the front or cutting teeth begin to be worn 
down, and the little nick, or the crown of the lateral incisors, to disappear. 
As the fourth year approaches, the tusks lose their points, and the teeth 
begin to decay. As soon as his eighth year has passed away, a few gray 
hairs show themselves around his eyes, and at the corners of the mouth. 
At the age of twelve to fourteen years, confirmed infirmity sets in, and the 
animal does not survive long after. 

The dewclaws — the fifth toe upon the hind foot — should be removed, 
if removed at all, with a pair of large, sharp scissors ; let the pup be held by 
one person, while another feels for the proper place to cut, which must be 
done with decision. Cropping, which is, equally with the previous opera- 
tion, a very cruel one, must be done, if done at all, by drawing the ears over 
the head until the points meet ; then, with a very sharp pair of scissors, cut 
both points oflf to the desired length ; and, with a single cut to each, from 
below upwards, cut away the hinder portion of the flaps of the ears up to the 
point. In a week the ears will be well. In training dogs, gentleness does 
more than harshness and violence can effect. 

VARIETIES. 

Newfoundland. — The true breed of Newfoundland is a dog of moderate 
stature, seldom exceeding twenty-six or twenty-seven inches in height ; long- 
oodied, broad-chested, shaggy coat ; pointed, wolfish muzzle ; ears small, and 
inclined to be semi-erect ; color usually black, with a shade of brown through 
it, and occasionally some white. The large dogs of the Newfoundland 
breed, which have been improved by crossing with the mastiflf, are more 
showy, but less valuable. 

The Newfoundland are remarkably docile and obedient, faithful, good- 
natured, and ever friendly to man. They will defend 'heir master and their 
master's property, and suffer no person to injure the >nc or the other ; and 
31* 



366 



FARMER S HAND-BOOK. 



however imminent the danger, will not leave them for a minute. They seem 
only to want the faculty of speech, in order to make their good wishes and 
feelings understood, and they are capable of being trained for almost all the 
purposes for which every other variety of the canine species is used. They 
are a famous water-dog, and have saved many human beings from drowning. 



Fig. 224. 




Shepherd. — The shepherd's dog of Scotland stands about twenty-one 
inches in height at the shoulder, is very gracefully shaped, muzzle pointed. 



Fig. 225. 




DOMESTIC OR FARM ANIMALS. 361 

ears half erect, coat long but fine and silky, tail and hams fringed with hair, 
and the color usually black and tan, or sandy yellow. The animal ia 
remarkable for his sagacity, and his disposition to tend live stock appears 
to be inherent and hereditary. The English shepherd's dog is larger and 
stronger than the Scotch, and has much of the appearance of a cross with the 
great rough water-dog. It is coarser in the muzzle and in coat, and is desti- 
tute of tail. It is, however, equally sagacious. 

Drover. — The drover's dog bears considerable resemblance to the sheep- 
dog, and has usually the same prevailing black or brown color. lie possesses 
all the docility of the sheep-dog, with more courage, and sometimes a degree 
of ferocity, arising from improper training and uses. 

Setter. — The setter, or land spaniel, comprises several varieties. He is 
by some sportsmen preferred to the pointer ; and where water is to be got at 
occasionally, during a day's shooting, he is undoubtedly superior. In dis- 
position the setter is more affectionate than the pointer, but requires more 
training, and that of a mild and gentle character. 

Terrier. — The terrier is a dog of very great utility, and of very varied 
form and size. They all have one common characteristic, which makes them 

Fig. 226. 




extremely useful, which is, a determined hostility to those animals termed 
vermin, as foxes, otters, polecats, rats, mice, &c. 

DISEASES OF THE FOREGOING ANIMALS. 

Abscess. — As soon as the abscess is brought to a head, let the matter be 
evacuated, either naturally by a bran-poultice, or by opening with a broad- 
shouldered lancet. Keep the part clean, trim the hair, and inject into the 
wound a little tincture of myrrh and aloes. If the cavity does not soon fill 
up, inject, once or twice a day, a wash of a half-ounce of bluestone, with half 
a pint of water. 

Apoplexy. — For Horses, bleed two gallons from a A'ein at once, remove 
the dung with the hand and give the following mixture : Barbadoes aloes 



368 farmer's hand-book. 

1 oz., Epsom salts 6 oz., water 2 pts. For apoplexy or staggers in 
Cattle, bleed from four to six quarts, till the beast is faint, and give, every 
Bix hours, a mixture of Epsom salts 1^ lbs., linseed oil 1 pt., warm water 
6 pts., with only half the quantity of salts and oil, till they are well purged ; 
after which, give, twice a day, tartar emetic 2 scruples, powdered nitre ^ oz., 
gruel 3 pts., — mixed for use. For apoplexy in Sheep, bleed a quart, and 
give, for a purging drench, Epsom salts 2 oz., linseed oil 2 oz.,warm water 
4 oz. ; repeated every six hours, if the bowels are not well opened, and give 
once or twice a day tartar emetic 10 grs., nitre 2 drs., gruel 2 oz., — mix for 
use. For apoplexy or staggers in Pigs, bleed, and then open the bowels 
with Epsom salts and sulphur. 

{Alteratives.) — These are medicines which operate without producing 
very decided evacuations. For Sheep, mix together one ounce of Ethiop's 
mineral, 2 ounces of nitre, 4 ounces of sulphur ; — give about two drachma 
daily, till the animal is cured. For the Cow, the dose is from a half to a 
whole ounce daily. For the Horse, one ounce to an ounce and a half, made 
into a ball with soft soap. If there is any tendency to grease, add to each 
ball one drachm of powdered resin. In cases of weakness, two drachms of 
gentian powdered, and one drachm of ginger powdered. For Dogs, flour of 
sulphur 12 oz., powd. nitre 2 oz., Ethiop's mineral 1 oz., treacle sufficient 
to make a mass ; give a piece the size of a nut to a walnut, according to the 
size of the dog. 

Black Quarter. — Also known as Quarter Evil, Quarter 111, Black Leg, 
Blood Striking, The Blood Joint Felon, or Inflammatory Evil. — Symptoms 
— extension of neck, red eyes, breath hot, muzzle dry, pulse quick, heaving, 
moaning, loss of appetite, lameness. Bleed copiously, then give a strong 
purgative dose, composed of 1^ lbs. Epsom salts, 1 pint linseed oil, 3 pints 
water. The wearing a seton, occasional doses of physic, and frequent 
careful examinations by the owner, are better than all else to prevent thia 
disease. In Sheep, bleed from the jugular vein till the sheep falls, and give 
Epsom salts 2 oz., linseed oil 2 oz., gruel 4 oz., till the bowels are well 
relieved ; then give, twice a day, tartar emetic 10 grains, camphor 20 gr., 
nitre 2 dr., gruel a wineglass full. 

Black Water. — Also called Red Water, Brown Water, Black Water, 
Moor 111, &:c. — Symptoms — bloody urine, loss of appetite, languor, apathy, 
seclusion, constipation. Bleed copiously; then give Epsom salts 1 lb., in 

2 qts. water, every six hours, in half-pound doses, till the bowels are 
relieved. Inflammation of the Kidneys, and Inflammation of the Mucous 
Membrane of the Bladder or Urethra, resemble this disease. The first-named 
is rare ; the second may be treated by bleeding, with a dose of Barbadoes 
aloes, in powder, 6 to 8 dr., powdered gum Arabic 1 oz., in a pint of water. 



DOMESTIC OR FARM AKIMALS. 369 

Red Water in S/ieep — bleed freely, and give for a drench, Epsom salts 3 
oz., linseed oil 1 oz., warm water 4 oz., — mix for a dose. 

Bog Spavin. — For this well-known disease in horses, a blister is the 
only means of cure. 

Bone Spavin. — Disease of the hock joint : remedied by rest, or cessation 
from hard work, or putting to moderate work on soft ground. The bony 
deposite, or inflammation, may be removed by repeated blisters. Use a hot 
iron only as a last resort. 

Botts are grubs, which, in the spring, trouble horses. To kill these, 
some use common salt in the animal's food, or as an injection. But when 
once the worm has attached itself to the animal's stomach, it is diiiicult to 
remove them. 

Bowels, Inflammation of. — In case of inflammation of the external and 
muscular coats of the bowels of Horses, bleed freely till fainting is produced, 
and give the following purge, — Barbadoes aloes 4 dr., powdered gum Ara 
bic 4 dr., hot water i pint; dissolve, and add a pint of linseed oil, and 
repeat the dose in eight hours. The belly should be stimulated with the 
following liniment, — mustard ^ lb., spirit of sal-ammoniac 2 oz., water 
enough to make it creamy. A fever-ball may be given twice a day, made 
of powdered foxglove ^ dr., tartar emetic 1 dr., nitre 3 dr., with linseed 
meal and treacle or soft soap sufficient. For inflammation of the mucous 
membrane of the bowels, produced from an over-dose of physic, give for a 
purge — prepared chalk 1 oz., powdei-ed bark 2 dr., powdered opium 1 dr., 
powdered ginger 1 dr., gruel 3 pints, — mix. For inflammation of the 
bowels of Cattle, bleed freely, and give for a purge — Epsom salts 1 lb., hot 
water 1 qt. ; dissolve, and add linseed oil 1 pt., to be repeated in six hours, 
till the bowels are well relieved, with injections of warm gruel. For the 
same disease in Dogs, bleed, put into a warm bath, and give castor-oil 2 oz., 
syrup of buckthorn 1 oz., — mix for a dose. 

Brain, Inflammation of. — Of the staggers in Horses there are two kinds, 
the Sleepy or Stomach, caused by over-feeding, which must be treated by 
removing the stomach's contents by the stomach-pump, then bleed, and give 
an opening ball. Mad staggers arise from inflamed brain ; bleed from 4 to 
6 qts., and repeat this in six or eight hours, and give the following ball, — 
Barbadoes aloes 8 to 10 dr., tartar emetic 1 dr., calomel 1 dr., and treacle, 
inject with warm water and linseed oil. For inflammation of the brain 
(frenzy or lough) in Cattle, bleed till the anima. faints, and give for a 
purge — Epsom salts 1 lb., hot water 1 qt. ; dissolve, and add linseed oil 1 
pint, — mix for a dose, and repeal every 6 hours till the bowels are relieved. 
For Sheep, bleed freely from the jugular vein, and give tor drink — Epsom 
Baits 2 oz., hot water 4 oz. ; dissolve, and add linseed oil 2 oz., — mix for use. 

Y 



370 farmer's hand-book. 

Brittleness of Hoof. — Mix 3 oz. oil of tar with 6 oz. of common fish-oil , 
rub this well into the crust and the hoof. 

Broken Knees. — Bathe the wounds with warm water, and apply, for a 
tincture, CEgyptiacum 4 oz., friar's balsam 1 oz., tincture aloes and myrrh 

1 oz, — mix for use. The knee of the horse should be bandaged. 
Broken Wind. — This is the rupture of some of the air-cells of the lungs, 

and is prevented, rather than cured, by occasionally feeding the horse with 
nutritious food, and avoiding great exertion just after he has been fed, so as 
not to distend the belly and press upon the lungs. 

Bronchitis is catarrh, extending to the entrance of the lungs. Symp- 
toms — hard and rapid breathing, and coughing up mucous matter. Bleed 
according to the violence of the disease, and blister the brisket and sides 
with blister ointment well rubbed in, and give for a ball — Barbadoes aloes 

2 dr., tartar emetic 1 dr., nitre 4 dr., sulphur 2 dr., with treacle; repeat 
till the bowels are acted on, assisted by warm and frequent injections, and 
give, twice a day, a ball made of — tartar emetic 1 dr., powdered foxglove 
^^ dr., camphor 1 dr., nitre 3 dr., with sufficient treacle. 

( Calves, Diseases of.) — For Diarrhaa, give two or three times a day 2 or 3 
table-spoonfuls of — prepared chalk 4 oz., powdered canellabark 1 oz., laud- 
anum 1 oz., water 1 pt. For Costiveness, dissolve 2 to 4 oz. — according 
to age — of Epsom salts in 2 qts. of water, and inject into the stomach by 
means of the stomach-pump, and, in need, repeat in half doses every 4 hours. 
For Canker in the Mouth, give a dose of Epsom salts, and wash with mel- 
CEgyptiacum 1 oz., friar's balsam 1 oz. 

Canker in Horses^ Feet. — Pare the hoof, destroy the fungus by means of 
the butyr of antimony, and apply tincture of friar's balsam 1 oz., and tincture 
of aloes and myrrh ^ oz., mixed together. 

Canker of Ears, in Do^s. — Apply an ointment of burnt alum in fino 
powder 1 dr., white vitriol in fine powder 1 dr., spermaceti ointment 4 oz. 

Capped Hock. — A Horse affection, produced by a bruise. Apply early 
and repeatedly a blister. 

Catarrh (common) , or Hoose (common cold) . — In slight cases, for Cattle, 
house, and give a dose of Epsom salts. Tf severe, bleed, and then give — 
Epsom salts ^ lb., ginger 2 dr., powdered aniseed 2 oz., gruel 3 pts. For 
Influenza, bleed 3 to 6 qts., and give for a purge — Epsom salts 1 lb., 
powdered coriander seeds 1 oz. ; dissolve in 3 pints warm gruel. In a 
Horse, give immediately additional warmth, some mashes, and a ball or two, 
each dose, made of — camphor 2 dr., tartar emetic 1 dr., powdered nitre 4 
dr., and sufficient linseed meal and soft soap to make a ball ; if severe, bleed, 
and, when better, give daily — powdered nitre 2 dr., do. aniseed 1 oz., do. 
caraway seeds 1 oz., do. gentian i oz., do. ginger 2 dr. ; — boil ten min- 



DOMESTIC OR FARM ANIMALS. 371 

ntes in a quart of ale, and give new milk warm. In Sheep, bleed, and give 
for a purge, Epsom salts 2 oz., powdered aniseed 2 dr., — mix, and give in 
a littie warm gruel. 

Catarrhal Fever. — Symptoms, in Horses, shivering, hot mouth, hot skin, 
heaving of the flanks, cough, nose red, and discharging a watery matter. 
If attended to early, bleed moderately, and repeat this if the pulse increascB 
and legs get cold. Keep the bowels open by giving a mixture of Barbadoes 
aloes 2 dr., gum Arabic ^ oz., water 1 pt., for a dose ; inject with warm 
gruel, and repeat the physic in 12 hours, if necessary. If the throat is 
Bore, apply a blister of powdered cantharides 1 oz., resin ointment 4 oz., — 
mix for use. Hot mashes are excellent, and a constant supply of gruel ; 
then, for cooling medicine, give camphor 2 dr., nitre 4 dr., tartar emetic 

1 dr., soft soap sufficient to make a ball. ' This disease must not be con- 
founded with inflammation of the lungs. 

Choking. — Use a flexible tube gently ; if the choking matter can be felt 
externally, pour a pint of sweet oil down the throat, and rub outside with 
the hand. 

Colic. — Laudanum 1 oz., spirits of sweet nitre 2 oz., do. of turpentine 

2 oz., linseed oil 1 pt., — mix. Apply hot water, by means of flannels, to 
the belly, and give an injection of Epsom salts .^ lb., linseed oil 4 oz., water 
4 qts., — mix. If these do not operate well, in half an hour, bleed. 

Contracted Foot. — Place the animal in wet clay during the day, or turn 
him into a moist pasture, properly paring away the sole and the toe, and 
lowering the heels. 

Cough. — Give, in a ball, gum ammoniacum 2 dr., powdered squills 1 dr., 
camphor 1 dr., soap 2 dr., made into a ball with syrup. If very bad, bleed 
moderately. 

Crib-Biting. — Indicates unsoundness, and tends to colic. Put a strap 
tight around his neck, or let him wear a muzzle of such a sort as will not 
prevent him from eating, but will disenable him to seize hold of the manger, 

Cud, Loss of. — Give, for a drink, when no particular disorder is appar- 
ent, Epsom salts i lb., powdered gentian ^ oz., do. caraway seeds 1 oz., do. 
ginger 2 dr., — mix, and give in warm gruel. 

Curb. — A bony excrescence in the inner side of a horse's hind lep. 
Give, for a cooling lotion, to reduce the inflammation, — afterwards apply- 
ing a blister, — sal ammoniac 2 oz., powdered nitre 2 oz., vinegar 1 pt.. 
water 1 qt., — mix for use. 

Diarrhoea. — An excessive discharge of fcecal matter. First give an 
aperient, either one pint of linseed oil, or, in a quart of water, ^ lb. Epsom 
Baits, 2 dr. powdered ginger, -r mix for a dose ; then give, for an astringent — 



372 farmer's hand-book. 

prepared chalk 1 oz., powdered catechu 3 dr., do. opium ^ dr., do. guiger 
a dr., — mix, and give in a quart of warm gruel. 

Distemper in Dogs. — Mix tartar emetic 20 gr., calomel 20 gr., opium 
5 gr., and give, in a piece of butter, from 2 to 6 gr., according to size. 

DiUenlion of the Rumen, or Grain Sick. — First use the probang, then 
give 1 pt. of linseed oil ; also give injections of warm water. 

Drofsy. — In the Horse, — give a diuretic ball of powdered resin 2 dr., 
Castile soap 2 dr., sulphur 4 dr., powdered gentian 2 dr., oil of juniper ^ dr., 
trtacle sufficient to make a ball, once or twice a day. When great debility 
exists, add a tonic made as follows — powdered gentian 2 dr., do. ginger 
1 dr., do. resin 2 dr., Castile soap 2 dr., powdered nitre 3 dr., oil junipei 
i dr., treacle sufficient to form a ball, — to be given once or twice a day. 

Dysentery, or Scouring Rot. — Dangerous and generally fatal disease. 
Take a small quantity of blood, and 1 pt. linseed oil, or Epsom salts i lb., 
powdered caraway seeds 2 oz., to be given in 1 qt. of gruel ; afterwards, 
night and morning, an astringent of prepared chalk 1 oz., powdered catechu 
4 dr., do. canella bark 2 dr., do. opium 2 scruples, do. gentian 2 dr., do. 
ginger 1 dr., — mix, and give in thick gruel. 

Epilepsy, or Fits. — Animals subject to fits should not be rode nor driven. 
If a Cow, either reduce her food or hasten her departure to the butcher. If 
a Sheep, the best treatment is to leave the action of the over-excited nervous 
energy to cease of itself. 

Eye, Inflammation of. — In Horses, if on account of cold, give in a ball — 
emetic tartar 1.J dr., nitre 3 dr., linseed meal and soft soap sufficient to form 
a ball ; and frequently foment the eye with hot water. If it does not abate, 
use for a lotion — Goulard's extract 1 dr., spirit of wine 1 dr., soft water 
<^ pt., — mix, and bathe frequently with a small piece of sponge. If it does 
not arise from cold, bleed, and give a dose of physic first, and then give the 
balls and use the lotion as above. In Cattle, bleed, and then give, for a 
purge, Epsom salts 1 lb., caraway seeds 1 oz., water 3 pts., — mix; the 
eye to be fomented with hot water frequently, and then use for a lotion — 
Goulard's extract 2 dr., laudanum 2 dr., water 1 pt., — mix, and bathe with 
a sponge ; when the inflammation has abated, use the following — purified 
white vitriol 10 gr., soft water .^ pt., — mix for use. 

Eyes, Weak, in Dogs. — Apply, for a wash, white vitriol 8 gr., soft water 
^ pt., — mix together, and apply, with a piece of linen rag, several times a 
day. 

Farcy. — One of the stages of glanders. Symptoms, — buds or knots on 
the sides of the face, inner part of thigh, or on the neck ; great swelling of 
the legs ana muzzle, cracked heels, bad discharges from the nose, &c. Use 
a lotion made of — blue vitriol 1 oz., white do. 1 oz., water 1 pt., — mix; 



UOMESTIC OR FARM ANIMALS. 373 

the ulcers to be bathed with this, night and morning, at the same time using 
balls made of — bluestone 1 dr., powdered gentian 2 dr., liquorice powder 
3 dr., treacle sufficient to form a ball, to be given twice a day. After giv 
ing the above for two or three weeks without relief, then give corrosive sub- 
limate 10 gr., gentian powder 2 dr., liquorice do. 4 dr., treacle sufficient to 
form a ball ; give every morning, and if it produces purging or sickness, 
discontinue at once. If green food is not to be had, give carrots. 

Feet, Inflarmnation of. — Symptoms in a horse, — fidgetiness, fever, moan- 
ing, lying down. Bleed freely at the toes, and apply soft linseed meal 
poultices to the whole foot, removing the shoe and gently paring the hoof; 
give for a dose — camphor 2 dr., nitre 4 dr., emetic tartar 1 dr., soft soap 
Biiificient to make a ball ; if severe, bleed afresh, and the third day, if no 
relief comes, apply a blister. 

Fever in the Horse. — Symptoms, — dulness, cold extremities, bad appe- 
tite, constipation. Bleed, and give for a ball — Barbadoes aloes 6 to 8 dr., 
powdered ginger 2 dr., Castile soap 2 dr., treacle sufficient, &c. ; give bran 
mashes and warm water, and perhaps an injection of warm water, f^ lb. 
Epsom salts, ^ pt. linseed oil. Afterwards give, night and morning, for a 
ball, tartar emetic 1 dr., camphor 1 dr., powd. nitre 2 dr., linseed meal and 
treacle enough to form a ball. 

Fistulous Withers. — Require to be treated like Poll Evil. 

Flooding. — A discharge of blood from the uterus of the cow, after calv- 
ing. Apply very cold water to the loins. If it continues, raise the cow's 
hind parts, give 2 dr. opium every hour, keep the patient quiet, take her 
calf. 

Fly in Sheep. — Appear in May. If the head is sore after the maggots 
are killed, apply a plaster of bees' wax 2 oz., 1 lb. pitch, spread on warm 
linen. To destroy the maggots, rub together sal-ammoniac 2 oa., corrosive 
sublimate ^ oz., dissolved in 2 gals, hot water, and apply the same. 

Feet, Diseases of. — Pumiced feet may be palliated by bar shoes. Tread, 
or overreach, — wash out the dirt carefully, and apply a little friar's balsam, 
and in bad cases a poultice. Pricked or Wounded Foot may often be cured 
by paring down the sole to the quick, and applying a little tow and friar's 
balsam to the place ; if matter has formed, apply a poultice. Thrush, — 
make a paste, of powdered blue vitriol 2 oz., do. white vitriol 1 oz., rubbed 
down with lard 2 lbs., tar 1 lb. ; apply some of this, on a little low, deeply 
into the cleft, over night, to be removed in the morning. Foot Rot, in 
Sheep, — apply a liquid, of powdered verdigris i oz., blue vitriol ^ oz., white 
do. i oz., soft water ^ pt., mixed together, and add nitric acid 1 oz., butyr 
of antimony 1 oz. ; pare away the horn, and apply with a feather to the i)art 
affected. Foul Foot, — after cutting away the fungous flesh, and using 
32 



374 farmer's hand-book. 

butyr of antimony, apply a tincture of friar's balsam 1 oz., butyr antimony 
1 oz.. — mix for use ; also give a dose of salts. 

Garget. — Inflammation of the internal part of the udder. At first, allow 
the calf to suckle, and rub about her udder; if unsuccessful, bleed a little, 
and then give, for a drench, Epsom salts 1 lb., aniseed powdered 1 oz., 
warm water 3 pts. ; bathe the udder, thrice a day, with hot water, and after 
each bathing rub with yellow basilicon 4 oz., camphor 1 oz., rubbed down 
with a little spirits of wine, strong mercurial ointment 2 oz., soft soap 16 
oz., mixed well together. 

Glanders. — Symptom, — peculiar thin, light, glutinous discharge from 
left nostril. Give, for a ball, bluestone 3 oz., dissolved in water, powdered 
myrrli 3 oz., do. nitre 8 oz., linseed meal and soft soap sufficient to make 
the mass into 24 balls ; give one night and morning, and inject the ulcers 
night and morning with a weak solution of chloride of lime, by means of a 
syringe, at the same time giving the horse green food. 

Grease. — An inflammation of the horse's heel, stopping the greasy matter 
from exuding on its surface. Wash with soft soap and water ; then apply, 
for an ointment, yellow wax 2 oz., sweet oil 8 oz. ; melt together, and add 
sugar of lead in very fine powder 2 dr. ; use a little after each bathing. 
Give bran mashes, a diuretic ball, every 3d or 4th day, at the same time 
having green food, if possible. If not attended to, the inflammation extends 
and the heel cracks ; poultice it with carrots boiled soft, or with linseed 
meal ; apply the following caustic, — bluestone 2 dr., alum 2 dr., water 1 
pt. When the inflammation has subsided, leave off" the poultice, and apply, 
for an ointment, yellow resin 4 oz., do. wax 4 oz., sweet oil 1 qt. ; melt 

gether, and add calamine in very fine powder J lb., — stir till cold. 

Griping. — Mix senna-leaves 12 oz., guaiacum-wood 2 oz., elecampane- 
root 2 oz., aniseed 2 oz., caraway do. 2 oz., coriander do. 2 oz., stick- 
liquorice 2 oz., stoned raisins 8 oz., rectified spirits of wine 3 pts., soft water 
3 pts. Let this mixture stand two weeks, occasionally shaking it ; dose 
for a Calf., 2 or 3 table-spoonfuls, — for a Horse, ^ pt. 

Groggincss. — In Horses, a peculiar knuckling over of the fetlock-joint, 
and tottering of the fore-leg. No cure. 

Heart, Inflammation of. — Not common. The only remedy is copious 
bleeding. It is indicated by quick pulse, rapid action of the heart, heard 
even at a distance. 

Healing Dogs^ Ears. — Melt together yellow resin 2 oz., do. wax 1 oz., 
sweet oil ^ pt., and when it begins to cool, stir in 4 oz. powdered calamine ; 
apply it to the sores. 

Hide-bound. — Hardness of the skin of the Horse. If there be no othei 
disease, give a mild physic-ball, of Barbadoes aloes 5 to 6 dr., powdered 



DOMESTIC OR FARM ANIMALS. StS 

{»iitger 2 dr., Castile soap 2 dr., treacle sufficient to form a ball. After this 
lias operated, give everyday, with bran mashes, green food, regular exeicise, 
and good grooming, a ball made of powdered black antimony 2 oz., do. nitre 
2 oz., do. yellow resin 1 oz., do. gentian 2 oz., flour of sulphur 2 oz., treacle 
sufficient to make eight balls. 

Hoove. — Symptoms in Cattle, — the animal ceases to eat, is distressed, 
breath oppressed, moaning, belly blown up ; brain is next affected, tongue 
protrudes. Introduce, as often as the belly swells, an elastic pipe down the 
throat into the stomach, which liberates the gas and relieves the animal ; 
when relieved, give a dose of Epsom salts 1 lb., caraway seeds 2 oz., ginger 
i oz., gruel 3 pts., and then, to give tone to the stomach, for three or four 
mornings, give a dose of Epsom salts 4 oz., powdered gentian 1 oz.,do. ginger 
i oz., do. caraway 1 oz., gruel 3 pts. In Calves, — introduce the elastic 
pipe. In Sheep, use the elastic pipe, or probang, same as for cattle, and 
give a dose of Epsom salts 2 oz., powdered ginger 1 dr., caraway 2 dr., in 

1 pint of warm water. 

HydrocephaltLS, or Water in the Head, in Sheep. — Give moderate doses 
of Epsom salts combined with ginger and gentian ; for a Sheep, the- dose 
may be — Epsom salts 2 oz., gentian 1 dr., ginger ^ dr., in a 4 pt. warm 
water. 

Jaundice, or Yellows. — Symptoms in Cattle, — yellow eyes, urine, and 
skin. If there be fever, bleed lightly, and then give Epsom salts 1 lb., 
powdered ginger 4 dr., warm water 3 pts. ; after the bowels are well 
opened, give every day, for a purge, madder 1 oz., flour of sulphur 2 oz., 
powdered caraway seeds 1 oz., Epsom salts 2 to 4 oz., warm water 3 pts. 
In Sheep, — give repeatedly, for a purge, Epsom salts 2 oz., powdered ginger 
^ dr., do. aniseed 2 dr., warm water { pt. ; if this be too weakening, give 
powdered gentian 2 dr., do. bark 1 dr., do. ginger i dr., warm water { pt. 

Joint Felon, or Rheumatism. — Give for a drench, to keep the bowels 
open, Epsom salts ^ lb., powdered caraway seeds 1 oz., flour of sulphui 
4 oz., warm water 1 qt. ; also give, once or twice a day, tartar emetic 1 dr., 
camphor i dr., nitre 2 dr., aniseed powder i oz., well rubbed together, and 
given in 1 qt. thick gruel ; if the joints continue much swollen, use for a 
liniment — spirits of hartshorn 2 oz., opodeldoc 2 oz., camphor liniment 4 
oz., laudanum 1 oz., — mix for use. 

Kicks, and other Bruises. — Foment the parts freely with hot water; if 
the skin is broken, apply a tincture of friar's balsam 2 oz., tinct. of aloea 
and myrrh 2 oz., — mix for use. 

Kidneys, Inflammation of. — In Horses, — bleed freely, every 6 hours, il 
requisite ; and give, for a ball, Barbadoes aloes 8 to 10 dr., powdered gingei 

2 dr reacle sufficient to form a ball ; the operation of the physic to be aa- 



376 farmer's hand-book. 

Bisted by injections of warm water and ^ pt. linseed oil, frequently thrown 
up, the loins well fomented with hot water, and afterwards apply a mustard 
poultice, with bran mashes and linseed tea. 

Lameness of Shoulder. — Foment frequently with hot water, bleed a little 
from the plate vein, and give a dose of physic ; and in obstinate cases apply 
a blister, or a liniment of opodeldoc 4 oz., laudanum 1 oz., sweet oil 4 oz., 
spirits of hartshorn 4 oz., — mix, and after each fomenting with hot water, 
rub well in. 

Lainpas. — In Horses, — a swelling of some of the bars of the mouth. 
Give a few mashes, aided by a gentle alterative ; in need, make a few mod- 
erate cuts across the bars. 

Lice in Cattle. — Result from poor keep. Use, for ointment, strong 
mercurial ointment 2 oz., lard | lb., — mix, and rub where the lice are found. 

Liver, Liflammation of. — Symptoms — fever, reclining on the right side, 
fulness on that side of the belly ; urine yellow or brown, and sometimes 
bloody. If there is much fever, bleed a little, and give — calomel 1 dr., 
powdered opium 10 gr., do. ginger 2 dr. ; rub together, and give in 1 qt. 
gruel, and repeat it twice a day ; give, in 6 hours after first dose, a purge of 
Epsom salts 8 oz., water 1 qt. ; dissolve and add linseed oil 1 pt. ; repeat 
till the bowels are open. If purging takes place from the first, give the 
calomel, opium and ginger, and give the drench as in diarrhoea, at the same 
time blistering the right side ; if great weakness ensue, give, for a tonic, 
powdered gentian i oz., do. caraway seeds 1 oz., do. aniseed 1 oz., Epsom 
salts 4 oz., — mix, and give in 1 pt. warm brandy. For Sheep, bleed mod- 
erately, and keep the bowels open by a drench made of Epsom salts 2 oz., 
powdered ginger 1 dr , warm water 4 oz. 

Locked Jaw. — In Horses, — bleed till the circulation is evidently affected, 
BO as to administer a strong purging ball or drink, assisted by injections of 
one pt. linseed oil to one gal. warm water, at the same time applying astrong 
blister from the poll to the rump, and even on the side; when the physic 
begins to act, give an anti-spasmodic of powdered opium 1 dr., do. aniseed 
2 dr., camphor 1 dr. ; rub the camphor down with a little spirit of wine, and 
mix with the opium and aniseed, and beat into a ball with treacle. In Cat- 
tle, — bleed till the beast threatens to fall, and give, for a drink, Epsom salts 
l-i lb., flour of sulphur i lb., warm water 2 qts., — mix, and repeat in ^ lb. 
doses every 6 hours, assisted by injections every 4 hours, composed of Ep- 
som salts ^ lb., linseed oil 4 pt., warm water 4 qts. ; when well operated, 
give 1 dr. opium, dissolved in warm water, twice a day, and put a seton in 
the dewlap. For Sheep, — bleeding, and physic, — either Epsom salts oi 
linsee<l oil. 

Mallenders and Sallenders. — A scurfy eruption in the legs i>^ horses. 



DOMESTIC OR FARM ANIMALS, 377 

Give a diuretic ball every third night, and dress twice a day with ointment 
made of tar 4 oz., suet 4 oz., — melt together, and add sugar of lead 1 02 
— stir till cold. 

Mange. — For a Horse, give a physic-ball of Barbadoes aloes 6 dr., calome 
1 dr., powdered ginger 2 dr., Castile soap 2 dr., oil of caraway 20 droj)s, 
treacle sufficient to form a ball. After the mange has set, give the following 
alterative balls: powdered black antimony 2 oz., do. nitre 2 oz., Castilo 
soap 2 oz., flour of sulphur 8 oz., soft soap enough to make the mass into 8 
balls ; give one of these every night, and use an ointment of flour of sulphur 
8 oz., strong mercurial ointment 2 oz., soft soap 4 oz., train oil 1 pt. ; rub 
well together, and then rub it in, with the hand, over the parts affected, 
using it moderately ; repeat, and, if needful, add 2 oz. of spirits of tar. In 
Cattle, use a drench, of Epsom salts ^ lb., flour of sulphur J lb., — mix, and 
give in 3 pts. of thin gruel every third day, and use the same ointment as for 
horses. In Dogs, — mix for use, and rub in carefully, with the hand, upon 
the affected parts, an ointment of flour of sulphur 1 lb., soft soap 4 oz., oil 
of tar 1 oz., train oil ^ pt. 

Megrims in Horses. — Is the mildest form of determination of blood to the 
head. Clive present relief by drawing a penknife deeply across the bars of 
the mouth, and set them bleeding; then wash well, and give a dose of 
physic, with green food. When the physic has operated, give every night 
an alterative ball, made of flour of sulphur 5 oz., powdered nitre 5 oz., do, 
resin 1^ oz , do. black antimony 3 oz., liquorice and soft soap sufficient to 
make 12 balls. 

Miscarriage. — In Mares, often arises from over-exertion, or accidents, 
or stinting in food, or high feeding and idleness. When, therefore, the beast 
is near her time, separate her from the rest, and put her in some convenient 
quiet place. When there is danger of slipping the calf, the cow should be 
taken from the pasture or stable the over-night, and from 2 to 3 or 4 qts. of 
blood drawn ; and give for a purging drink, repeated in about 8 or 10 days, 
Epsom salts 1 lb., nitre 2 oz., ginger and aniseed, in powder, 1 oz. each, trea- 
cle 4 oz. ; pour 3 pts. hot water upon these, and give when new-milk warm ; 
after it operates, give for one drink, — alum in powder 4 oz., nitre 1 oz., grains 
of paradise, and aniseeds, fresh powdered, 1 oz. each, solid opium cut small 
} dr., treacle 4 lable-spoonfnls ; put this into a pitcher, pour 1 qt. hot water 
upon Jt, cover it down till new-milk warm, and then give it to the beast. If the 
calf is slipped, separate the cow from the herd, and give, for a drink, sper- 
maceti 2 oz., spirits of turpentine 1 oz., one egg-yelk ; beat these together, 
then add grains of paradise, and caraway seeds, fresli powdered, 1 oz. each, 
treacle 4oz., — mix in 1 qt. vjarm gruel, add a wine-glass of gin, and give it, 
new-milk warm, every third day, for 3 limes. In Sheep, must be prevented, 
32* 



318 farmer's hand-book 

as in the tw : former cases, oy caref . attention to tiieir r.abit$, feed, anrf 
condition. If he ewe is afterwards attacked with fever, she may be treated 
as for fever ; if very weak, give doses of ginger 2 dr., gentian 1 dr., Epsom 
salts 1 oz., in warm water. 

Nasal Gleet. — In Horses, give a ball, night and morning, made of blue 
vitriol 1 dr., dissolved in water ; powdered gentian 2 dr., do. ginger 1 dr. ; 
treacle and meal enough to form a ball. Inject the nose with a solution of 
chloride of lime. 

Navel 111. — When the navel bleeds, tie a ligature a short distance from 
the belly ; a pledget of lint, dipped in friar's balsam, over it, confined with 
a bandage, and changed night and morning ; and keep the bowels open with 
linseed oil ; then give a cordial drink, in a little gruel, once a day, made of 
powdered caraway 2 dr., do. gentian 1 dr., do. ginger i dr. 

Palsy. — In the Horse, if from violence or accident, give a dose of physic, 
foment the back or loins with hot water, and rub in, for an ointment, 
opodeldoc 4 oz., spirits of turpentine 4 oz., do. of hartshorn 4 oz., mixed 
together ; if necessary, after three or four days, apply a mustard liniment. 
In Cattle, keep the bowels well open by a drench made of Epsom salts 1 lb., 
powdered caraway 1 oz., do. aniseed 1 oz., do. ginger 2 dr., — mix, and 
give in 1 qt. warm beer, and use same liniment as for horses. In Sheep, keep 
the bowels well open with a drink of Epsom salts 2 oz., warm water 3 oz. ; 
dissolve, and add linseed oil 1 oz., — mix together. 

(Pigs, Diseases of.) — For the common diseases of pigs, give flour of sul' 
phur 1 lb., madder ^ lb., powdered nitre ^ lb., do. black antimony 2 oz., 
— mix, and give one or two table-spoonfuls in their food for a dose. 

Pneumonia, or Inflammation of the Lungs. — In Horses, bleed freely till 
fainting begins; then give, for a fever-ball, tartar emetic 1 dr., powdered 
foxglove i| dr., do. nitre 3 dr., linseed meal and soft soap enough to form a 
ball, to be given two or three times daily. After the force of the fever is 
reduced, it may be necessary to apply extensive blisters to the brisket, and 
to the sides under the elbows, the hair being shaved close, and the ointment 
made of powdered Spanish flies 1 part, lard 4 parts, resin 1 part ; melt the 
lard and resin together, then add the Spanish flies, and rub the ointment 
well in with the hands for ^ of an hour. In Cattle, the treatment is 
similar ; bleed freely, and, if needful, repeatedly ; give a dose of salts, and 
then the following — tartar emetic 1 dr., camphor 1 dr., nitre 4 dr., in 1 qt. 
thick gruel. If the blister-ointment fails, hot water and a hot iron may be 
used. 

Poisons. — For Cattle, affected by the yew-tree, hemlock, dropwort, 
olack henbane, and wild parsnip, give 1 lb. Epsom jsalts in 2 qts water ; use 
.»e stomach-pump, injecting and copiously withdrawing water. Symptoms 



DOMESTIC OR FARM ANIMALS. ST 9 

— sudden swelling, thirst, refusal of solid food, grinding of the teeth, paw 
ing, and rolling as in pain. 

Poll Evil. — First bleed, administer a dose of physic, and apply cold 
lotions. If these fail, use poultices and warm fomentations, and then intro- 
duce a seton skilfully. 

Ring-bone. — In Horses, an enlargement of the postern joint ; — apply a 
blister over the ring-bone, formed of powdered cantharides 1 oz., resin 
ointment 4 oz., — mix for use. 

Rheumatism. — In Dogs, use for an embrocation, camphorated oil 2 oz., 
spirits of hartshorn 1 oz., laudanum i oz., — mix for use. 

Roaring. — In the early stages, a blister, bleeding, cooling medicine, 
may succeed in recovering; when confirmed, it is cureless. It is an 
unnatural contraction of the windpipe and larynx. 

Rot. — An aiTection of the lungs and liver, with a dropsical tendency. 
Symptoms, — if, in warm, sultry, and rainy weather, sheep that are grazing 
on low and moist lands feed rapidly, and some of them die suddenly, there 
is reason to fear that they have contracted the rot ; this suspicion will be 
further increased, if, in a few weeks afterwards, the sheep begin to shrink, 
and become flaccid in their loins, — by pressure about the hips at this time a 
crackling is sometimes perceptible ; now, or soon after, the countenance 
looks pale, the skin is pale red, and the wool easily separates from the felt, 
and, as the disorder advances, the skin becomes dappled with yellow or 
black spots; about this time, the eye loses its lustre, becoming white and 
pearly, and to this succeed debility and emaciation. For a cure, both tur- 
pentine and common salt- have sometimes been used with success; the 
latter is good to prevent, as also are aromatic vegetable substances, — pars- 
ley, for instance, — also give them, when feeding on watery plants, some 
hay, corn, or oil-cake. 

Round-bone, Sprain of. — Foment well and often with hot water, then 
blister. 

Saddle-galls, Sit-fasts and Warbles. — Allow no pressure on the parta 
affected ; then dress with common salt dissolved in water, and the brine 
mixed with one fourth its bulk of friar's balsam. 

Scab in Sheep. — This is owing to the presence of minute insects. Use 
for a lotion, corrosive sublimate 1 oz., sal-ammoniac 4 oz., spirits of turpen- 
tine 1 pt., hot water 2 gal. Dissolve the sublimate and sal-ammoniac in 
the water, and then add the turpentine ; separate the wool, remove the scab, 
and apply the lotion. 

Scour in Lambs. — Mix, and give one or two table-spoonfuls once or 
twice a day, — prepared chalk 2 oz., powdered canella bark 2 dr.. tincture 
of catechu i oz., laudanum i oz., water 1 pt. 



380 farmer's hand-book. 

Sore Teats in Coivs. — Before milking, bathe the teats well with vvano 
water; after milking, use for an ointment, wax 2 oz., lard 6 oz., — melt 
together, and add sugar of lead in very fine powder 2 dr. ; stir till cold. 

Splint. — Caused by inflammation of the shank-bone : its growth is 
attended by heat, tenderness, and pain. If it produce lameness, cut the 
hair off close, and rub in, for three or four nights, a little strong mercurial 
ointment ; then blister the part with blister ointment, and repeat it if neces- 
sary. When the inflammation from the blister has subsided, turn him out. 

Staling, Difficulty. — In the Horse, give bran mashes, green food, and 
plenty of gruel ; if this fails, take a little blood, and give a mild dose of 
physic. 

Staling, Profuse ; or. Diabetes. — In Horses, bleed, give a dose of 
physic, and then twice a day give an astringent ball, made of powdered bark 
J oz., do. opium .^ dr., do. coriander 2 dr., treacle enough to form a ball ; 
give green food, or a few carrots. 

Stifle Lamrnfss. — Fouient frequently with hot water ; give a mild dose 
of physic, and let the animal rest. 

Strangles. — Symptoms, — a cough, discharge from the nostrils, and also 
one of a soapy nature from the mouth, swelling under the throat, loss o 
appetite, fever. Give mashes and green food, and apply to the throat, ovei 
the tumor, a blister of powdered cantharidcs 1 oz., yellow basilicon 4 oz. 
oil of thyme 2 dr., — mix for use. When the tumor has formed, open it with 
a lancet, and dress with a tincture of friar's balsam 2 oz., tincture of myrrh 
and aloes 2 oz., — mix. When the tumor begins to heal, give a mild dose 
of physic. It is not often necessary to give medicine, if much fever exists. 
At the commencement of the disease, give, for a ball, tartar emetic 4 dr., 
powdered nitre 16 dr., linseed meal and soft soap enough to make 4 balls. 

Surfeit. — A ekin complaint in horses. Bleed a little, give mashes and 
green food, and a ball, made of — powdered black antimony 2 oz., do. nitre 
2 oz., do. resin 1 oz., do. gentian root 2 oz., flour of sulphur 4 oz., soft 
soap enough to make 8 balls. 

Swelled Legs. — Give regular exercise, and assist by hand-rubbing, and 
by bandages wrapped rather tightly around the legs. Give no diureti 
balls. 

Thick-wind. — Feed moderately, give green food occasionally, ana 
gentle exercise. 

Thorough-pin. — In Horses, a swelling above the hock. Apply a blister. 

Ticks or Lice in Sheep. — Apply carefully, for a wash, powdered arsenic 
i lb., soft soap 7 lbs., soft water 4 gals. ; boil this till the arsenic is dis- 
solved, and add as much soft water as will dip 50 to 70 sheep. 

Turnsick, or Goggles, or Giddy, o Dunt. — A complaint of the head. 



DOMESTIC OR FARM ANIMALS. 381 

proceeding from the presence of hydatids in the brain, lodged in a sac or 
bladder, which presses upon the brain. It is beyond the reach of medicine 
or mechanical operations. Sturdy is a name often given to this disease, as 
well as to Water in the Head, but they are distinct. Treat by examining 
the skull for a soft spot on the bone, where the water is collected. Per- 
forate the skull with a trocar, accompanied by a tube, through which the 
water may escape ; after which, apply a few drops of essence of myrrh to 
the aperture ; shelter the animal and dress the wound. 

Ulcers. — Bathe 2 or 3 times a day, with a solution of chloride of lime, 
and use an ointment of yellow basilicon 4 oz., powdered verdigris i oz. ; rub 
together for use. 

Warbles. — Foment with hot water, and when the tenderness has abated, 
apply a lotion, of strong vinegar 1 pt., rectified spirit of wine 2 oz., extract 
of Goulard 1 oz., spirits of turpentine 1 oz., — mix together for use. 

Warts. — Cut them off close with a pair of scissors, and touch the roots 
with lunar caustic. 

Womb Jnjlammatiim. — It occurs in Cows, after calving or bulling. 
Symptoms, — great irritation and pain. Bleed, and give for a drench, 
Epsom salts 1 lb., powdered caraway seeds 2 oz., warm gruel 3 pints. 
Bathe the womb with Goulard water, or vinegar and water mixed equally. 
In Sheep, bleed and open the bowels with Epsom salts in 2 oz. doses. 

Worms. — In the Horse, unless they abound, let them remain. If they 
descend into the rectum, inject a quart of linseed oil, or salt and water. If 
a strong dose of physic is intended to be given to the patient, when it has 
set, give a ball every morning, fasting for a week, of tartar emetic 8 dr., 
Hour of sulphur 6 oz., powdered ginger 8 dr.. treacle sufficient to make 8 
balls. In Dogs, give, for a drench, spirits turpentine 1 to 4 dr., castor-o 
2 to 8 dr., — mix for a dose according to size. 

Wounds. — Foment frequently with hot water, and apply a tincture of 
friar's balsam 2 oz., compound tincture of myrrh and aloes 2 oz. ; if 
ujihealthy granulations arise, wash, previously to using the tincture, with 
bluestone 1 oz., soft water 1 pt. Wounds generally heal better without 
sewing, if it can be avoided. For Bogs, tincture of myrrh and aloes 2 oz., 
friar's balsam 1 oz., — mix these together, for use. 

LIVE STOCK CALENDAR. 
November. — The month of November may be said to be the commence- 
ment of the farmer's year. By this time the labors of his harvest have been 
concluded, and his produce has been secured ; and he is now proceeding to 
prepare the ground for the crop of another season, if the weather be sufH- 
ciently open for him to do anything more before the next spring. 



382 farmer's hand-book. 

The cattle may be supposed to consist of cows ; of a certain number of 
calves ; of a certain number of the steers and heifers of the preceding year, 
termed, therefore, one-year-olds, as having completed their first year, but 
now^ approaching to the end of their second year ; of a certain number of 
steers ana neilers which have completed their second year, and are therefore 
termed two-year-olds, though now approaching the end of their third year ; 
and of a bull. The two-year-old steers and heifers are now arrived at matu- 
*y ; the heifers intended for bi'eeding have received the male in the course 
of the season, and the older steers are ready for final breeding. 

As the month of October had advanced, the pasture had begun to fail ; and 
before the termination of the month, the various cattle had been put in their 
respective houses, yards, and stalls. The cows which had borne calves in 
the early part of the year had been put in the cow-house and tied in theii 
respective stalls, — straw, and a limited proportion of succulent food, as 
turnips, having been supplied to them. The calves which were born in the 
early part of the year had been put in one or more yards with sheds, had 
been well littered, and had received straw, and a full allowance of turnips. 
The steers and heifers of the preceding year, now turned their first year, 
and approaching the end of their second year, had also been put into yards 
with sheds. They had likewise been plentifully littered, receiving straw, 
with a full allowance of turnips. 

The older cattle — those that have completed their second year — had been 
treated thus : — Such of them as were heifers, to be retained for breeding, 
had been separated from the males in the preceding spring ; had received 
the male as they came into season, in spring and the early part of summer ; 
and, being with calf, had been put into yards with sheds, to be tied to their 
respective stalls, when within a few weeks of calving. The steers again, 
which are now to be finally fattened, had either been tied in stalls, or put in 
pairs into yards with sheds, in either case receiving a full supply of tur- 
nips, or other nourishing food. 

The bull had been put into a shed or yard by himself, receiving straw for 
provender, and a sufficient supply of turnips. 

Such may be supposed to be the arrangement of the cattle at the com- 
mencement of the month of November. The same treatment with respect 
to them is to be continued during the entire month ; — the cows and heifers 
are to receive straw, with a modified allowance of turnips — the calves and 
steers straw, with a full supply of turnips. 

The sheep again, consisting, it may be assumed, of a regular breeding- 
stock of ewes, may be supposed to have been arranged and treated thus : — 
The ewes, consisting partly of sheep that had borne lambs, had, by the 10th 
of October, the rams admitted to them. At the beginning of November tho 



DOMESTIC Oa FARM ANIMALS. 383 

ranu .nd ewes are still pasturing together, receiving no other food but grass, 
and by the middle of the month the rams are withdrawn. 

The lambs bom in the spring, now termed ewe and wether hogs, had, 
on the failure of the pastures in October, been penned on turnips. At the 
beginning of November, they continued penned on turnips, they being 
attended to as well as the sheep, and the pens being shifted when necessary. 

The horses, in the month of October, had been put upon their full allow- 
ance of hay and corn. At the beginning of November they are receiving 
full feeding ; but before the middle of the month, when the hours of labor 
become short, the hay may be withdrawn, aod the allowance of oats reduced 
one half. 

By the beginning of the month the colts had been put into their yards, or 
into a paddock with a shed, receiving straw as provender, with any succu- 
lent roots, as turnips and potatoes. 

TRe swine and poultry are receiving their usual food. The pigs are fat- 
tened at all times, and the poultry receive their regular supplies of food m 
their yard ; and as the same method of management continues throughout 
the year, the feeding of this class of stock need not be again adverted to. 

December. — The cows are in the cow-houses ; the young cattle in their 
yards ; the feeding cattle in their houses or yards, as before ; and they are 
all kept and treated in the same manner throughout the month. The ewes 
are, as before, on grass; but in snows, or hard frosts, they receive an allow- 
ance of hay. The ewe and wether hogs are penned on turnips as before, 
and are kept so during the month. The hours of daylight, and consequently 
of labor, being short, the horses are still fed on straw, and receive their 
modified allowance of com. The colts are in their yard or paddock, receiv- 
ing straw, with an allowance of green food, and are kept so during the 
month. 

January. — The cattle are still in their houses and yards, and are fed as 
during the last month ; turnips being brought, and a store kept in reserve, 
as formerly. Some of the cows may calve during this month, or towards 
the end of it. They are to be well attended to at this time, and the calves 
separated from them at the birth, and fed on new milk three times in the 
day. The ewes are on grass-land, if the weather be not too severe, receiv- 
mg hay when the weather renders it necessary. The ewe and wether hogs 
continue penned on turnips, as during the previous month. The horses are 
on straw, and are receiving their short allowance of corn. The colts are in 
their yard or paddock, and are fed as before. 

February. — The cattle are in their houses and yards, and are fed aa 
during the last month. The cows will calve during this month and must 
be carefully attended to. The ewes are on grass, if the weather is not too 



384 farmek's hand-book, 

rigorous ; art after the middle of the month, they may ha\e turnips carried 
to them, so as to prepare them for the lambing season by the middle of 
next month. The ewe and wether hogs are penned on turnips as before. 
By the middle of the month, if not sooner, the horses should be put upon 
hay, and receive their full allowance of corn, in preparation for their work 
in spring. In place of straw, the colts may now receive hay. 

March. — The cattle are still in their yards, and feeding as bsfora 
During the month all the cows may be supposed to have caiVed. The addi- 
tional calves required are to be purchased, the best and earliest that can be 
obtained. The ewe and wether hogs are on turnips, as before. The ewes 
will now begin to lamb. They have been hitherto receiving turnips, but as 
they lamb they are transferred with their young to new grass. The male 
lambs are castrated in lots. The horses are on full work, and are receiv- 
ing their lull allowance of hay and corn. The colts are receiving hay. 

April. — The cattle are in their yards, and fed as before ; the calve"fe are 
receiving milk, with such nourishing substances in addition as may enable 
the milk of each cow to bring up two calves. The ewes are now on new 
grass, with their lambs. At the commencement of the month, the ewe and 
wether hogs are still on turnips, but by the middle of the month they are 
removed from turnips and put on grass. The horses are at full work, and 
receive a full supply of hay and corn. The colts that have reached their 
third year may now be taken up and trained to work ; or they may he 
allowed another summer's grass, and be taken up for training in autumn. 
Mares will foal this month. 

May. — At the commencement of this month, the cattle may yet be in 
their yards, and be fed as formerly. By the middle of the month, the former 
year's calves, now yearling steers, and the two-year-old steers, if the grass 
is sufficiently advanced, are turned out to pasture ; the cows are turned out 
to pasture, and if there are any of the two-year-old cattle which are heifers 
fiDTCi which it is wished to breed, they must be separated from the steers of 
the same age, and placed amongst the cows, and when they come into sea- 
son, if they have not already done so, they must receive the male. During 
this month, the older cows should all have received the male, so that they 
may calve in the following February. With respect to the feeding oxen 
now turned their third year, and consequently three-year-olds, these may be 
fed during the month, as long as there are turnips sufficient for them. Dur- 
ing this month, the mares should all have received the male, so that they 
may foal in the subsequent month of April. The colts are turned out for 
the season to grass. As the weather becomes warm, the sucking calves 
may be turned out to a small paddock. After being weaned in their fourth 
month, thev are turned out to feed for the remainder of the season, along 



DOMESTIC OR FARM ANIMALS. 385 

with the cows and feeding stock. The sheep of all kinds, at the commence- 
ment of the month, were on grass, and they continue to be pastured in their 
respective fields during the month. By the end of it, the fat sheep, if ready, 
may be washed and shorn, or else these operations are deferred till later in 
the season. 

June. — The cows and steers are pastured in the field during the month. 
All the calves will be weaned during this month, and turned out to graze 
for the remainder of the season. Such of the cows, heifers, and mares, as 
have not received the male, now receive him. At the beginning of the 
month the horses should receive green forage, and towards the middle of it 
they may be put at night in the pasture-field. At the beginning of the 
month, the ewes with their lambs, and the ewe and wether hogs, are at 
grass in their respective enclosures ; and at or before the beginning of the 
month, they are washed, and in eight days afterwards shorn. In ten days, 
or as soon as convenient after shearing, the wether-hogs, now dinmonts, and 
such of the ewe-hogs, now ginmiers, as are not to be retained on the farm 
for breeding, may be sold. 

July. — The cows, oxen, and weaned calves, are at grass, and are kept 
so during the month. The horses continue to receive green forage during 
the day, and may be permitted to pasture in the fields at night ; and this 
method of feeding may be continued during the month. But their work 
having become easy towards the middle of the month, their allowance of 
corn may be lessened. At the commencement of the month the ewes, with 
their lambs, are in their former fields of grass ; by the middle of the month 
the lambs are weaned ; and from this time forward, the lambs, now termed 
hogs, are kept separate from the breeding ewes. 

August. — The cows, steers, and calves, are at grass, and are kept so 
during the month. The ewes are at grass in their own fields, and the ewe 
and wether hogs in theirs. The old ewes that are to be sold may now be 
selected from the rest of the flock, and marked for that purpose ; and, at 
the same time, all the other sheep may have their distinguishing mark put 
upon them. The horses are receiving green forage, and, when the first 
crop of clover is consumed, other feed may be furnished. They may still 
be allowed to be in the fields at night. 

September. — The cows, calves, and steers, are all at grass, and are 
kept so during the month. All the sheep are likewise at grass during the 
month ; but before the end of it, the old ewes which had been marked for 
sale may be sold. The horses are kept on green forage. As the month 
advances, they are taken up from grass at night, and kept in the stable ; 
and, at the end of the mqnth, they are put again on hay and hard food. 

October. — At the beginning of the month, the cows, calves, and steers, 
33 "■ Z 



386 farmer's hand-book. 

are at grass ; but as the month advances, the cows may be taken up at night, 
and receive green forage in the house. Before the 10th of the month, the 
rams are admitted to the ewes and gimmers. At the commencement of the 
month, the ewe and wether hogs are at grass, but towards the end of it, 
when the pastures fail, they are penned on turnips. Towards the end of the 
month, too, as the pastures fail, the cows, calves, and steers, are put finally 
into their respective winter houses and yards. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

POULTRY, OR THE VARIOUS DOMESTIC FOWLS. 

THE RAISING, BREEDING, DISEASES, AND TREATMENT, OF THE COMMON BARN 
FOWLS: ALSO, THE TURKEY — THE GOOSE — THE DUCK, ETC., IN ALL THEIR 
IMPORTANT VARIETIES. 



I. COMMON BARN FOWLS. 

VARIETIES. 

Fi-'. 227. 




(387) 



388 



FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 



ShawgEaI (Fig. 227). — The preceding very excellent representations arc 
actual portraits, drawn from life. They were imported by William C. Rud- 
man, of Philadelphia, from whom they were purchased by W. J. McGowan. 

The cock, 15 months old, weighed 12 pounds, and the hen, 11 months old, 
weighed 9| pounds. 

Bankiva. — This fowl is a native if Java, has a red indented comb, red 
wattles, and ash-gray legs and feet. The cock has a thin indented or scal- 
loped comb, and wattles under the mouth ; the tail a little elevated above 
the level of the rump, and the feathers disposed somewhat in the form of 
titles. Neck-feathers long, hanging, rounded at the tips, and of the finest 
gold color ; head and neck fawn color ; wing-coverts are dusky-brownish 
and black ; tail and belly black. The hen is of a dusky ash-gray and yel- 
lowish color, comb and beard much smaller than the cock, with no feathers 
on the neck besides the long hackles. The annexed cut represents a cock 
of tlus variety. 



Fi^. 228- 




OuNGHiLt — This is the commonest form of the domestic fowl. The cock 



POULTRY, OR THE VARIOUS DOMESTIC FOWLS. 389 

has a hrge thin comb and wattles, and the brilliant plumage of the wild 
Bpecies ; but the best hens are generally of dingy colors, though there ia 
almost infinite variety in their shades ; the white ones are better for the 
table than for laying. The legs of the common fowls should be short, white, 
and shining, and their bodies round and plump. 

Game. — This kind of fowl is rather slender in the body, neck, bill and 
legs, and the colors, particularly of the cock, very bright and showy. The 
flesh is white, tender, and delicate, and the eggs small, but, like the flesh, 
much esteemed for superior delicacy ; and therefore, for more reasons than 
one, it would be better to raise them for domestic use than for the cock-pit. 

Dorking. — This valuable variety has acquired a great popularity, and is 
easily distinguished. Their flesh is exceedingly juicy, white, and deli 
cate, and they have the advitntage of feeding rapidly, and growing to a 
very large size, when propeiiy managed. Capons and poulardes are fre- 



Fig. 229. 




quently made of these fowls, growing to an enormous size when castrated. 
The feathers are almost always white, and their legs short and remarkably 
smooth. 

Malay, or Chittagong. — These fowls have remarkably long legs and 
large bones ; their flesh is, however, finely flavored, when they have been 
properly fattened, and their eggs are so large and rich that two of then, are 
equal to three of those of ordinary fowls. The color of the feathers k Mack, 
or very dark brown, streaked with yellow, and the legs are large and coarse 
33* 



390 FARMER'? HAND-BOOK. 

The fowls are tall, strong-beaked, and powerful ; the cock has a loud and 
harsh crow. It is said that a cross breed between the Malay and the com- 
mon fowl produces a breed very superior to either of its progenitors. 

Paduan, or Jago. — There are numerous hybrids and varieties of the 
Jago fowl, one of the most interesting being the Spanish fowl, represented 
in the following figure. The. body and tail feathers are of a rich black 

Fig. 230. 




with occasionally a little white on the breast. The cock is a most majestic 
bird ; its deportment grave and stately ; and it is encircled with a ring of 
brown feathers, from which rises a black tuft which covers the ears. Thero 
are similar feathers behind the comb, and beneath the wattles. The legs 
and feet are of lead-color, except the sole of the foot, which is yellowish ^ 
The every-day or ever-laying fowls are the same as the Hamburgh, or 
Dutch. They are, however, evidently only a variety, or hybrid, of the 
Jago fowl, with the nourishment that was required in that species, and in 
some of its varieties, to form a tuft of feathers, expended in an enormous 
comb and wattles. These fowls are very large, their feathers blackish, with 
an iridescent green. The wattles and combs, even of the hens, are unusu 
ally large, and the caps under the ears are very large, and of a bluish 
white. 

Crested. — This variety is known by a densely-tufted crest and a small 
comb ; it is also variegated with fine colors, but it agrees in other respects 
with the commm dunghill fowl. The diflTerent varieties of this fowl are the 
white fowl with a black crest, the black fowl with a white crest, and the 
white fowl with a large beard. Of these the Poland or Polish fowl, repre- 



POULTRY, OR THIJ VARIOUS DOMESTIC FOWLS. 



391 



eented below, is the best known, and it appears probable that it is a hybid 
between the Crested and the Spanish fowls. These fowls are very hand- 
Fig. 231. 




Bome, and excellent for the table ; the hens are good layers, producing 
large and finely-flavored eggs, but they are bad sitters. 

Bantam. — This is a small variety, with short legs, most frequently 
feathered to the toes, so as sometimes to obstruct walking'. The full-bred 




Bantam cock should have a rose comb, a well-feathered tail, fisll hackieR a 
proud, lively carriage, and ought not to weigh more than one pound 09 



392 FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 

nankin-colored and the black are the greatest favorites. If of the lattei 
color, the bird should have no feathers of any sort in his plumage. The 
nankin bird should have his feathers edged with black, his wings barred 
with purple, his tail-feathers black, his hackles slightly studded with pur- 
ple, and his breast black, with white edges to the feathers. The hens 
should be small, clean-legged, and match in plumage with the cock. 

Dwarf, or Creeper. — This variety, which is not larger than a pigeon, 
differs from the bantam chiefly in size and in the shortness of its legs. The 
Acaho is very small, with a circle of feathers about the legs, a thick tail, 
which it carries straight, and the ends of the wings black. In addition to 
this, there are some who are obliged to leap, from their legs being so short; 
they are the size of a dunghill fowl, and kept as being very fruitful ; the 
hens will hatch thirty eggs at a time. 

RuMKiN. — This is now considered a distinct species. It is distinguished 
by the want of a tail, by the comb not being, in the wild birds, indented, 
and by the wattles being blood-colored rather than scarlet ; the feathers are 
all of a dusky orange in the wild birds, but finely variegated in the tame 
ones. 

Frizzled. — A native of Java and Japan. Distinguished by having all the 
feathers turned and frizzled, being smaller than our common species, more 
■vild, and less suitable for domestic purposes. Flesh firm and delicate. 

Silky. — This is also a distinct species, according to modern writers. It 
nas the whole body covered with feathers, the webs of which are so disu- 
nited as to appear like hairs or glossy silk ; the general color is white, and 
the legs covered wholly on the outside, quite to the toes. As in other vari- 
eties, individuals of this sort differ in respect to color. 

Russian, or Siberian. — This breed seems to differ chiefly from others 
in having considerable tufts of brown or. dark loose feathers springing from 
each jaw, and others, longer or fuller, from the lower jaw. In the hen 
there is an upright tuft, spreading from the back of the head, of the same 
silky texture. Independently of these, the cock has the usual comb and 
wattles, and the hen a small comb also. This sort varies in color, one 
variety being white, with the ends of the feathers glossy blue or black, 
giving it a spotted appearance, and the legs being covered with fibrous or 
downy feathers ; another has the plumage of the game fowl, a fine tawnj 
orange, spotted with black. 

Barbary. — This African variety is generally of a pale or dun color, 
spotted about the neck sparingly with black, and the feathers at that part 
very full ; on the crown is a large, full tuft of feathers, the same in color 
with the body. 

Java — Resembling the Malay in shape, but somewhat colored like the 



POULTRY, OR THE VARIOUS DOMESTIC FOWLS. 



393 



Dorking. It is probably a cross between the two. In qualities it resembles 
the Malay, but is not so valuable as a cross with other breeds. 
Ostrich, or Cochin China. — This variety of fowls completely surpasses, 

Fig. 233. 




in size and power, the general run of poultry. Their general color is rich, 
glossy brown, deep bay ; on the breast is a marking of a blackish color. 



394 FARMER'S UAND-BOOK. 

and of the shape of a horse-shoe ; the comb is of a medium size, serrated, 
but not deeply so, and the wattles are double. Besides their gigantic size, 
however, these fowls possess other distinctive characteristics, the most strik- 
ing of which is, that the wing is jointed so that the posterior half can, at 
pleasure, be doubled up, and brought forward between the anterior half and 
the body. The eggs are large, chocolate-colored, and of a very delicate 
flavor. 

GENERAL TREATMENT. 

Raising, Breeding, d^c. — Hens, if left to their own impulses, would pro- 
duce one brood early in spring, the other in autumn. They begin to lay in 
February, sooner or later, partly according to the time of molting, which 
means the shedding of the feathers, at which time they lose their high tone 
of health, and cease to lay. The season of molting is late in the autumn, 
and in consequence of the change in their constitution, while the juices of 
the body are promoting the growth of new feathers, no egg secretions are 
formed. The molting period, after the third year of the hen's life, becomes 
gradually later and more tedious ; young poultry molt in spring ; no fowl 
are fit for the table at such time. The hens lay abundantly in Februarj' and 
March, which are usually quite as cold as November and December, while 
in the latter, unless they have molted very early in autumn, they rarely 
yield an egg. Reaumur warmed his fowl-houses by artificial heat, but got 
no eggs. Yet a stock of poultry, by judicious treatment, may be rendered 
prolific during the entire year, by having very early and successive summer 
broods, as the pullets (which do not molt in the first year) will lay towards 
the close of the year. The first brood may be obtained in January, by care- 
ful management. Hot food — boiled potatoes are as good or better than any 
other — should always be given, in the winter months, to the hens which are 
on the laying list, and which should be kept as dry and warm as possible. 

Number of Hens for a Cock. — Every experienced fowl-keeper knows that 
those eggs only are prolific which are produced by hens which have had con- 
stant intercourse with the male, though, for the purposes of the table, they are 
better without this intervention, as they are more easily preserved in a state 
of freshness. Some writers recommend twelve to twenty females for each 
cock, while others consider half that number more desirable. The fact is, 
much depends on climate, and the season of the year, a dry and genial tem- 
perature favoring a greater number of the hens to the male. 

Qualities of a Good Cock. — In selecting a cock, he is considered to have 
every requisite quality, when he is of a good middling size ; when he car- 
ries his head high, has a quick, animated look, a strong and shrill voice 
short bill, a fine red comb, shining as if varnished, large wattles, and of the 



POULTRY, OR THE VAHIOOS DOMESTIC FOWLS. 395 

same color as tlie comb, the breast broad, the wings strong, the plumage 
black, or obscure red, the thighs very muscular, the legs thick, and fur- 
nished with strong spurs, the claws rather bent, and sharply pointed. He 
ought also to be free in his motions, to crow frequently, and to scratch the 
ground frequently for worms, not so much for himself as for his hens. He 
ought, withal, to be brisk, spirited, ardent, and ready in caressing the hens, 
quick in defending them, attentive in soliciting them to eat, in keeping them 
together, and in assembling them at night. 

Selecting Hens. — It is only requisite to have them of middling size, dark 
colored, bright eyes, short legs, blue feet, and neither disposed to crow nor 
be passionate. Hens that are long-legged, — and of course ill-formed for 
Bitting, — with small body, and very limited compass of wings, should be 
kept, if kept at all, exclusively for laying. The best age is from two to 
four years. 

Sitting. — The hen testifies her desire to hatch by making a clucking 
noise, searching for eggs to sit upon, and by general restlessness and fever- 
ish agitation. When this tendency is not naturally excited, some humane 
breeders endeavor to promote the disposition by stimulating applications — 
nettles, for instance — to the belly. Hens that have molted very early will 
often sit before November, and this is a point gained when chickens are 
wanted about Christmas. The eggs for hatching should be fresh, and free 
from all offensive smell, and preserved in bran, with their larger end — 
which contains the air-bag — uppermost, and under a warm temperature, 
for three weeks before they are set. Examine the eggs, by holding them 
between the eye and a candle, and if the vacancy caused by the air-bag at 
the blunt of the egg appears to be a little on one side, it will produce a 
hen ; if this vacancy be exactly in the centre, it will produce a cock. From 
nine to fifteen is the number usually placed under the hen, according to her 
size. Her nest should be of clean, soft, and short straw, if possible on the 
floor, and facing the south, and corn and water should be placed within her 
reach ; but the food should be removed as soon as she satisfies herself. 
Many hens feed but once a day, and some would starve themselves sooner 
than leave their eggs in search of food. 

Hatching. — The hen sits for three weeks. About the twenty-first day the 
chicks chip the shell with the upper bill, which is furnished with a horny 
scale at the end, and gradually extricate themselves from confinement ; fre- 
quently they do not disengage themselves from it in less than twenty-fou 
hours, or even more ; but it is generally much better not to assist them in 
breaking the shell, for if this be done before they have taken in the necessary 
supply of sustenance, by the yelk passing into their bodies through the 
navel, they will certainly die. It may, however, sometimes be necessary 
bo afford them aid, for it sometimes happens that their bodies adhere, from 



396 f ARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 

bad hatching, to the shell, and that their naturally revolving movernents do 
not tend to disengage them. They must, in this case, be very tenderly 
relieved by the hand. 

On the day after they have been hatched, the chicks may be removed from 
the nest to a basket, or some similar receptacle, lined vi^ith wool, or such 
soft, warm substance, though it is perhaps better not to remove them from 
the original nest. For a fortnight they are fed with crumbs of bread soaked 
in milk, and thenceforth every day, for some time, with yelks of eggs, curd, 
grits, &c., and after a few days they may be allowed to peck about in warm 
spots with their mother, but must be guarded from wet. They will soon 
feed greedily on meal, crumbs, &c., mixed with a small portion of potatoes, 
beet-leaves, parsley, or cabbage. 

Fattening. — Fowls in a natural state, picking up what they can get at 
the barn-door, are, perhaps, the best-flavored and most wholesome for the 
table ; but as it is common, and almost necessary, to practise fattening, we 
will treat of that matter. 

The most approved coops are those which are divided into solitary cham- 
bers, so narrow as to prevent the fowl from turning around, and with an 
opening in the rear part for the discharge of the excrement, perfect clean- 
liness being indispensable, with meal and milk in a trough, and a little 
gravel or brick-dust, to promote digestion, at front. Another practice is, 
to cram them with a paste made of flour, or meal, milk, and hog's lard, or 
kitchen-grease, introduced by means of a tube, or by the fingers. In the 
course of a fortnight chickens may be rendered suflSciently fat, and of great 
weight. 

Health of Fowls. — The indications of good health are, a florid color oi' 
the comb, and bright eyes free from moisture, dry nostrils, and bright, 
glossy plumage. 

Caponizing. — This is an art but little understood in the United States, 
although a knowledge of the mode of performing it is of equally as much 
importance to the fiirmer as an acquaintance with the process of castra- 
ting cattle, horses, and swine. The emasculation of young roosters 
exerts a beneficial influence on their condition, rendering them large, fat, 
and fine-flavored. The fowls selected for the purpose should be of the 
largest breed, and not more than two or three months old, as, at an ad- 
vanced age, the mortality is very great. Food and water must be denied 
them for thirty-six hours before the time of performing the operation ; it 
having been observed that a full stomach and bowels has a tendency to 
promote bleeding from the wound. 

Mode of performing the operation. — Secure the chicken upon its left 
side on a table, with its wings clasped behind its back, its legs extended 
backward, the upper one more so than the lower, leaving its bead and 



POULTRY, OR THE VARIOUS DOMESTIC FOWLd. 397 

neck perfectly free, and then pluck the feathers from the right side, near the 
hip-joint, to the extent of an inch square. Draw the skin back, and make 
an incision with a bevel-edged knife between the two last ribs, commen- 
cing about an inch from the back-bone, and extending obliquely down- 
ward about an inch, or an inch and a half; cutting only deep enough to 
separate the ribs, without wounding the intestines. Then, having pre- 
viously attached a pair of broad, blunt, silver hooks to the ends of a piece 
of rattan about six inches long, insert one hook in a lip of the wound, 
and, bending the rattan in the form of a bow, attach the second hook to 
the opposite margin of the wound ; the spring of the bow will keep the 
wound open sufficiently wide to afford the operator working-room. Thia 
being done, carefully slit the skin enclosing the intestines, and if the 
latter are not sufficiently drawn up toward the breastrbone, push them 
forward with the handle of a small silver scoop, formed somewhat like a 
tea-spoon, but much smaller, and having a sharp steel hook at the handle 
end. With a delicate pair of forceps seize the skin covering the testicles, 
and connecting them with the back and sides, and tear it open with the 
sharp hook on the end of the scoop. Another instrument is then brought 
into requisition, consisting of a tube of some kind of metal, flattened at 
one end, through which passes a loop of horse-hair — the loop end extend- 
ing a short distance below the flat part of the tube, and the free ends 
projecting some distance beyond its opposite end. With the left hand 
the lower, or left, testicle is raised up by means of the scoop, while the 
loop of horse-hair is passed over it with the right, in such manner as to 
encircle the parts connecting it with the back. The free ends of the 
horse-hair are then drawn backward and forward, while the tube ia 
pushed toward the chicken's rump, and thus the testicle is sawed off. 
The same operation is then performed upon the right testicle; after which 
the separated testicles, together with the effused blood, are removed with 
the scoop, the hooks withdrawn, and the skin closed over the wound, 
which is then covered with the feathers plucked off at the commencement 
of the operation. If the side of the chicken afterwards puffs out with 
wind, puncture the skin and let it out. Great care must be used in per* 
ftirming the operation, as a careless cut may maim the chicken for life; 
and a failure to remove all the substance of the testicles will render the 
entire operation of no avail. 

II. THE TURKEY. 
VARIETIES. 

The diversity of color is about all that constitutes the difference of va- 
rieties of this bird ; — the black, the white, the copper-color, the brown, 
34 



398 farmer's hand-book. 

the bronze, the dusky-gray, &c. As to the relative value of tlie ordinary 
varieties, ihere is some doubt. The bronze and copper-colored varieties 

Fig. 235. 




are generally small, and difficult to rear ; but their flesh is very delicate 
The brown and ashy-gray are not particularly remarkable, but the black 
are decidedly superior as regards hardiness, rearing, acquiring flesh, and 
the quality of the flesh ; they are also very prolific. 

GENERAL MANAGEMENT. 

Keeping, ^c. — With respect to the best mode of keeping turkeys, it is 
necessary to let them have a large, roomy shed, protected from the weather 
and from moisture. The perches should be high, and a ladder should be 
Bupplied, as the birds, when fat, are otherwise apt to injure themselves in 
their descent from a lofty perch. During warm weather they may be per- 
mitted to select their own roosting-places on the trees about a farm, but 
should be well watched, lest they stray away, and, in cold weather, get their 
ender toes frost-bitten. 

The turkey provides itself with food from the roads and hedge-rows : 
snails, slugs, and wormS; are among the number of its dainties, and the 
nearest pool serves to slake its thirst. It should, however, be kept away 
from the grain-fields. 

Qualities. — In selecting a turkey-cock, see that he is large, stout, proud,. 



POULTRY, OR THK VARIOUS D{ MESTIC FOWLS. 399 

and majestic. Both cock and hen should have short legs, full shapes, and 
general vivacity and energy in all their movements, and be healthy. A 
turkey-cock is in his prime in his third year; the hen is in her prime 
younger, say in her second year. 

Laying. — One fecundation, it is said by some, will render all the eggs 
of that laying fertile, while others allow one cock to every dozen or fourteen 
hens. The approach of the laying season is known by the increased liveli- 
ness and proud strut of the hen, and a peculiar self-satisfied cry. This 
usually takes place in March. When these symptoms are noticed, a nest 
should be provided, and a true or false egg put into it, to induce the hen to 
commence laying there, for she prefers a secret place. The time when she 
lays is usually the morning ; some lay daily, others only every second day. 
When the turkeys are to be let out in the morning, examine the hens, and 
keep in such as are about to lay, in order to secure the eggs. While the 
hen is laying, the cock should be kept from her, as he would ill-treat her 
and break the eggs. The eggs must be taken away as soon as laid, and 
they will keep till the hens cease laying, if put in a basket and kept dry. 
The hen-turkey will hatch other eggs than her own. 

Sitting. — The same barbarous stimulus, of flogging with a sprig of nettle, 
prescribed for hen-fowls not readily disposed to sit, has been tried for turkey- 
hens ; and also a dose of brandy and water to make them drunk when they 
are placed on the eggs, to insure their sitting on their becoming sober. 
The dark-colored turkeys are preferable. 

Any number of hens may be placed under the same shed, at short dis- 
tances from each other, taking care that they are kept quiet and dark, as well 
as warm. The nest may be formed of a circular pad or roll, stuffed with 
matted straw, and about fifteen inches in diameter ; the insidfe being filled 
with soft bruised straw, on which the eggs are laid, which, bemg secured 
by the border, will not roll about when the hen makes a motion to get in 
and out of her nest, or turn her eggs. 

Hatching. — When several hens hatch at the same time, commencing 
together, it is obvious that if any accident should happen to one of them, 
the eggs may be at once transferred to some of the other nests, the evening 
being the proper time for this, so that on the morrow the new-comer may 
appear to be of her own family. 

On the thirty-first or thirty-second day, the chicks, as in the case of 
fowls, will chip and break their shells, and get out, unless prevented by the 
adhesion of the body to the pellicle of the shell. When (and this direction 
equally applies to all poultry) a small hole is perceived in the shell, through 
which the bill can be seen, and the chicken appears unable to break through 
the shell completely, the shell should be slightly and gently broken on the 



400 farmeh's hand-book. 

outside, and lifted up with the point of a pin, but with care not to touch the 
chick. 

Treatment of the Young. — A few drops of wine are frequently given to 
reanimate drooping- chicks, and some recommend bread soaked in wine for 
them at first ; but the natural warmth of the mother's body is the best 
physician, and this they should as quickly as possible enjoy, as the external 
atmosphere is so cold compared with that in which they previously existed. 
The early feeding of young turkeys is very similar to that which we have 
recommended for fowls. Egg is a favorite food for them. They may very 
soon have nettles and parsley made into balls, with groats or meal boiled to 
the consistence of stirabout, which they learn to peck from the hand. A3 
the mother is very stupid, and does not teach her little ones to search for 
food, a keeper is necessary for young turkeys, in order to feed them fre- 
quently, to take them out airing after the dew is off the ground, and place 
them in shelter, either from the hot sun or rain, for six weeks, when they 
become pretty hardy, and can eat boiled potatoes mixed with their meal. 
The membranes of the neck and head now shoot the red, as it is termed, 
and at this critical period poults require very high feeding. After harvest, 
turkey poults — which name they receive after two months — are driven in 
large flocks to pasture and stubble fields, where they learn to pick up insects 
and grains of corn ; and then they are quite independent of the maternal 
wing, and flock with the older turkeys, and roost with and accompany them. 
But care should be taken to have shade or shelter always at hand for them 
during the sultry hours of the day, and when rain is falling. 

Fattening. — After six months, turkeys may be crammed like fowls, with 
the same kind of food, but need not be so closely confined, though a dark 
place is recommended for them. It requires six weeks to render turkeys 
perfectly fat, and it would be barbarous to confine them in pens so long ; 
they may be left in close farm-yards. To have very large turkeys, cocks 
should be kept over for fattening until they are nearly two years old ; but a 
young hen-turkey in spring is much better in flavor. 

Feeding. — In their ordinary run about the farmer's yards and fields, 
turkeys nearly feed themselves sufliciently ; if not, they will do so by 
scattering among them, in the morning, oats or corn. Boiled potatoes or 
Swedish turnips greatly assist in the support of a flock of turkeys. 

m. THE GOOSE. 
VARIETIES. 

Toulouse. — The varieties of the common domestic goose are very 
few. Amongst these varieties is that of the Toulouse, chiefly remarkable 
fot its vast size. Its color is a slaty blue, marked with brown bars and 



POULTRY, OR THE VARIOUS DOMESTIC FOWLS. 401 

occasionally relieved with black — the head, neck as far as the beginning 
of the breast, and the back of the neck as far as the shoulders, of a 
dark brown ; the breast is slaty blue ; the belly is white, as also the under 



Fig. 236. 




surface of the tail ; the bill is orange-red, and the feet are flesh-color. The 
Toulouse is of a mild and easy disposition, which conduces to the chance of 
his early fattening, and that also at little cost. The flesh is said to be 
tender and well-flavored. 

Chinese. — The Chinese goose is a well-known variety, including several 
sub sorts, among which is the Hong Kong, considered the same as is called 
by the name of Poland, having a large, horny knob on the bill and forehead, 
the prevailing color gray, with a longitudinal stripe of deep brown running 
above the back of the neek, — the legs red. There are also the Black-legged 
Chinese, also knobbed, and usually with a white edge around the knob, 
somewhat similar to that of the wild breed called the White Fronted, — and 
the White Chinese, a very handsome bird, knobbed as the rest, of a snow- 
white color, and with legs of a bright orange-red. 

These geese are inferior in size to the Toulouse, but, nevertheless, vury 
fine birds, and worthy the attention of the breeder. The white variety, 
especially, with red legs, is very beautiful ; the flesh is also good. They 
feed well, fatten easily, and are very prolific. 

Common. — Of our ordinary and well-known domestic geese there exist 

but two sorts, whose only distinction seems to rest in their relative size, 

they being divided into the large and small; and by some, accordirg to their 

color, into the white and the gray. These divisions are, to a certain extent, 

34* 2a 



402 



farmer's hand-book. 



arbitrary ; as ou. of the one clutch may be generally found the several vari 
eties, both as to size and color, that are sought for. The best sorts are 

Fig. 237. 



1 




those which vary least in color. Gray is the best ; mixed colors will not 
prove so prolific, and the young will be more difficult to feed up to the re- 
quired standard. 

GENERAL MANAGEMENT. 

In France, geese are put up in thirties in the same lodge, with roofs and 
partitions to separate them, never allowing more than eight under one roof. 
All damp must be avoided, for geese at all times are fond of a clean, dry 
place to sleep in, however much ihey may like to swim in water. It is 
not a good plan, on the whole, to keep geese with other poultry ; for, when 
confined in the poultry-yard, they become very pugnacious, and will very 
much harass the hens and turkeys. It is recommended to pasture geese in 
marshy or moist ground, and to sow for them vetches or tares, meliot, 
clover, chicory, and lettuce, of which they are very fond. Grass they 
should also have, and they are satisfied with the poorest. In allowing geese 
to range at large, it must be remembered that they are very destructive to all 
garden and farm crops, as well as to young fruit-trees. To prevent their 
getting through the gaps in fences, hang a stick across their breasts. 

Food. — Did geese require to be always fed in the poultry-yard, it would 
cost more than they are worth to keep them, for they are voracious feeders. 
All sorts of vegetables, food, and grain, agree with them, but they do not 



POULTRY, OR THE VARIOUS DOMESTIC FOWLS. 403 

thrive well without grass. The refuse of the cabbage of a market-garden 
would maintain a great many geese at a very small cost, but it is very 
doubtful whether they would keep long in good health, when fed either on 
cabbage, mangel-wurzel leaves, chicory, endive, lettuce, or other green 
food. This, indeed, is apt to render their bowels too open, and even to 
bring on scouring, unless alternated with boiled or steamed potatoes, given 
warm, or with the meal of oats, peas, beans, or maize, beaten up with 
boiled potatoes, carrots, or turnips. 

The stubble-fields of any sort of grain are excellent pasture for geese, for 
there they not only find grass and other herbage, but the grain which may 
have been scattered, and which would otherwise be lost ; while their dung, 
though at first acrid and apt to injure, will, when it has been mellowed, 
much enrich the ground. 

Pairing. — It has been ascertained by M. St. Genis that geese will pair 
like pigeons and partridges ; and, in the course of his experiments, he re- 
marked that, if the number of the ganders exceed that of the geese by 
two, and even by three, including the common father, no disturbance nor 
disputes occur, the pairing taking place without any noise, and no doubt by 
mutual choice. 

It is usual, in books, as well as in practice, to assign six geese to one 
gander. In some places, the small farmers who keep two or three geeae 
keep no gander at all, but turn their geese, at the breeding season, for a 
short period, among the ganders of some larger establishment near them. 
This, however, must render the eggs of doubtful fertility, though, no doubt, 
It would not be practised, if it were found to be an unprofitable plan. The 
gander to be selected should be of a large size, of a fine white, with a lively 
eye, and an active gait ; while the breeding goose ought to be brown, ash- 
gray, or parti-colored, and to have a broad foot. The gray geese are sup- 
posed to produce the finest goslings, while the parti-colored ones produce 
better feathers, and are not so apt to stray from home. 

Laying. — When well kept, geese will lay thrice a year, from five to 
twelve eggs each time ; and some more, when they are left to their own 
way : but if the eggs be carefully removed as soon as laid, a goose may be 
made, by proper feeding, to lay from twenty to fifty eggs without intermit- 
ting. They begin to lay early in spring, usually in March ; and it may be 
known when an individual is about to lay, by her carrying straws about to 
form her nest with ; but, sometimes, she will only throw them about. 
When this is observed, the geese should be watched, lest they lay in some 
by-place, and the eggs be lost. It is an essential precaution, as soon as it 
is perceived that geese want to lay, to coop them up under their roof, where 
nests made of straw have been previously prepared. If they can once bo 



404 farmer's hand-book. 

induced to lay in this nest, they will continue to do so till their number of 
eggs is completed. In order to have early goslings, geese should be brought 
to lay early by keeping them in a warm, clean place, and feeding them on 
stimulating food. 

Hatching. — When a goose, at the laying of each egg, is observed to keep 
in her nest longer than usual, it is a pretty sure indication that she is desir- 
ous of hatching. It is a popular but incorrect opinion, that a goose always 
knows her own eggs, and will not hatch any others. 

The nest for hatching should be made of straw, lined with hay, and 
fiom fifteen to twenty eggs will be as many as a large goose can conven- 
iently cover. 

The goose sits for two months, and requires to have food and water placed 
near her, that she may not be so long absent as to allow the eggs to cool, 
which might cause her to abandon her task. Some put vinegar in their 
water, and others lift ihem off their nests to make them drink ; but this is 
not necessary. 

It is an economical way of getting a great number of goslings, to employ 
turkey-hens to hatch. The common fowl has been equally praised for filling 
this important function ; but the eggs of the goose being very large, and 
their shell very hard, a hen is not bulky enough to hatch more than eight 
or nine. The turkey-hen, therefore, deserves to be preferred, because she 
can hatch fourteen or fifteen. This function of the goose being thus filled 
by another, she is not kept from laying, and yields eggs in abundance. 

Goslings. — Like turkey-chickens, goslings are a month in hatching, 
and must be taken from under the mother, lest if, feeling the young ones 
under her, she might perhaps leave the rest of the tardy brood unhatched. 
After having separated them from her, they must be kept in flat wicker 
pens, or baskets, covered with a cloth, and lined with wool ; and when the 
whole brood is come forth, the first hatched may be returned to the mother. 
In some places, when the eggs of the goose are on the point of being 
hatched, it is customary to break the shell a little, to give air to the gosling, 
and to help its coming out. Perhaps this practice, though dangerous to 
turkey-chickens, is less so to the goose's egg, whose shell is commonly 
very hard. On the first day after the goslings are hatched, they may be let 
out, if the weather be warm, care being taken not to let them be exposed to 
the unshaded heat of the sun, which might kill them. The food given them 
is prepared with bran, raspings of bread, &c., which, if soaked and boiled in 
milk, or curdled milk, and lettuce-leaves, are still better. 

Afterwards, advantage must be taken of a fine warm sun to turn them out 
for a few hours ; but cold and rain being very hurtful to them, they must in 
bad weather be cooped up, and prevented from mixing with the larger ones 



POTTLTRY, OR THE VARIOUS DOMESTIC FOWLS. 405 

unless they have strength enough to defend themselves against any hostile 
attack, to which new-comers are usually exposed. To such goslings as area 
little strong, bran may be given twice a day, morning and evening, continu- 
ing to give them this food until the wings begin to cross on the back ; and 
after this, green food, which they are particularly fond of, may be mixed 
with it, such as lettuce, beet-leaves, and the like. 

Fattening. — Like other fowls, geese may be brought, by proper manage- 
ment, to a great degree of fatness ; but the period at which they are the fat- 
test must be chosen to kill them, otherwise they will rapidly become lean 
again, and many of them would die. Geese may be fattened at two different 
periods of their life, — in the young state, when they are termed green 
geese, and after they have attained their full growth. The methods at each 
period are very nearly the same. 

For fattening geese, — boiled oats, given thrice a day, with plenty of 
milk, will, it is said, fatten them well in a month. For stubble geese, 
besides oats, give split beans, with meal and water, cooping up in a quiet, 
dark place, as is done with fowls. The London feeders, when they receive 
goslings in March, begin feeding them on meal, from the best barley and 
oats, made into a liquid paste. They are afterwards fed on dry corn, to 
render their fat firmer. Full-grown geese are kept particularly clean, have 
regular exercise, and are fed with proportional quantities of dry, soft, and 
green food. Cabbage and lettuce alone will fatten young geese, bought in 
the end of June. Some persons recommend steamed potatoes, with a gal- 
lon of buckwheat or ground oats to the bushel, mashed up with the potatoes, 
and given warm. This, it is said, will render geese, cooped in a dark, 
quiet, cool place, fat enough in three weeks. The French mode of fattening 
consists in plucking the feathers from under the belly, giving them abundance 
of food and drink, and cooping them up more closely than is practised with 
common fowls, cleanliness and quiet being above all indispensable. The best 
time is in the month of November, or when the cold weather begins to set 
in ; if it is longer delayed, the pairing season approaches, and prevents their 
becoming fat. When there are not many geese to fatten, they are put into 
a cask having holes bored in it, through which they may thrust their heads 
to feed ; and being naturally voracious, the love of food is greater than the 
love of liberty, and they fatten readily. The food consists of a paste, made 
of barley-meal, ground maize, and buckwheat, with milk and boiled potatoes 
In Poland, a similar method is practised, the goose being put in an earthen 
pot without a bottom, and of a size not to allow the bird to move. The 
same food as that just mentioned is given in abundance, and the pot is so 
placed that the dung may not remain in it. The process is completed in a fort- 



406 farmer's hand-book. 

night, and the geese are sometimes so increased in size that the pot has to 
be broken to get them out. 

When the great number of geese to be fattened renders the preceding 
plan inconvenient and too expensive, they are taken from the stubbles or 
pasture, and cooped up, twelve together, in narrow pens, so low that they 
can neither stand upright nor move in any direction. They are kept 
scrupulously clean, by often renewing the litter of the pens. A few feathers 
are previously plucked out from the rump, and from under the wings. The 
portion of maize required for once feeding is boiled and put into a feeding- 
trough, with clean water, in a separate vessel, and they are permitted to eat 
whenever they feel inclined. At the commencement they eat a great deal 
constantly, but in about three weeks their appetite falls off. As soon as this 
is perceived, they are crammed, at first twice a day, and, towards the end 
of the process, thrice a day. For this purpose a tin funnel is used, with a 
pipe five inches and a half in length, and less than an inch in diameter, with 
the end sloped off like the mouth-piece of a flageolet, and rounded at the 
edge, to prevent its scratching the throat when it is introduced. A small, 
round bag is adjusted to the pipe, through which grain is introduced into the 
crop. The operator sits squat upon the ground, holds the goose with one 
hand, introduces the pipe of the funnel into the mouth of the goose with the 
other, and presses in the food till the crop is filled. Water is at the same 
time given to the geese to drink, and must always be left near them, as the 
cramming renders them very thirsty. A woman who is dexterous will 
cram ten geese in an hour. In less than a month, a goose may in this way 
be fattened to an enormous bulk. 

Sometimes a lean goose is confined in a small coop made of fir, narrow 
enough to prevent it from turning, while there is a place behind for passing 
the dung, and another in front to let out the head. Water is supplied in a 
trough in front, having some bits of charcoal in it to sweeten it. A bushel 
of maize is considered enough of food for a month. It is soaked in water 
the day before it is used ; and the goose is crammed morning and evening, 
while it is allowed, during the day, to eat and drink as much as it chooses. 
About the twenty-second day, a quantity of poppy-oil is mixed with the 
maize. In a month, it is seized with difficulty of breathing, and a lump of 
fat under each wing indicates that it is time to kill it, lest it should be choked 
with fat, and die. 

By this process, the liver of the goose is increased so much that it will 
weigh from one to two pounds, and will, besides, yield about three pounds of 
fat, much employed, in French cookery, for dressing vegetables. 



POULTRY, OR THE VARIOUS DOMESTIC FOWLS. 



407 



IV. THE DUCK. 

VARIETIES. 

Rouen, or Rhone. — There are numerous speciesand varieties of the duck, 
of great diversity of size and color, though it is not usual to domesticate, ex- 
cept for curiosity, more than two or three of these. The tame variety most in 
request is the dark-colored Rouen or Rhone duck, originally from France, 



Fig. 238, 




but now sufficiently common. These ought to be of the largest size, for, if 
they are small, it is probable they are not far removed from the original wild 
breed, and in that case will not only be very apt to stray away, but will be less 
prolific in eggs, though both the eggs and the flesh will be higher flavored 

English, or Aylesbury White. — This variety, though handsome and 
strong, is inferior in flavor, the flesh being too light-colored, and chicheny. as it 
is termed. Great numbers of this variety are, however, raised and fattened, 
attaining to a l»rge size. 

Fig. 239. 




408 



FIRMER S HAND-BOOK, 



Muscovy. — This duck is a distinct species, and not a mere variety, much 
larger than the common duck, and distinguished by a sort of red merrbrane, 
covering the cheeks, and extending behind the eyes, as well as by the 
musky odor exhaled by the rump gland. In a wild state, the drake is of a 
brownish-black color, with a broad white patch on the wings, the female 
being smaller and more obscurely colored. In the domestic state it exhibits 
every variety of color, like the common duck. The Muscovy duck is easily 
fattened, and a prolific breeder ; and hence, tiiough it is also a voracious feeder, 

Fig. 240. 




it may be rendered profitable to rear. The male is very ready to pair with 
the common duck, producing, by the cross, a hybrid or mongrel breed. 

GENliRAL MANAGEMENT. 

The Duck Pond. — In order to keep ducks properly, a pond should be 
provided for them, if there bo no water convenient ; and it is important, if 
the pond will admit of it, to have a small island in it, planted with rushes, 
osiers, and other aquatic plants and shrubs, though some recommend to have 
no plants in the way. 

Food. — Ducks may be left to provide for themselves a considerable part 
of the year. They live chiefly on grain strewed about the poultry-yard, 
the siftings and sweepings of barns, all sorts of mealy substances, the 
residue of breweries and boiling-houses, herbage, vegetable roots, fruits,— 
everything, indeed, suits them, provided it be rather moist. They are par- 
ticularly fond of boiled potatoes, and these have been substituted, with profit, 
for maize and barley. They are partial to being in meadows and pasture 



POULTRY, OR THE VARIOUS DOMESTIC FOWLS. 409 

grounds Every sort of flesh or oflTal is much to their liking, and forwards 
their growth admirably. Ducks are so very greedy that they often endea\or 
to swallow a whole fish, or a frog, which heats them extremely, if they do 
not immediately throw it up. Particularly fond of meat, they eat it with 
avidity, even when it is tainted. Slugs, spiders, toads, garbage, insects, all 
suit their ravenous appetite. Among all the fowls of the poultry-yard, ducks 
are of most service in gardens, by destroying a quantity of vermin, which 
usually do irreparable damage ; but their voracity brings with it inconven- 
iences which balance this advantage, except in the case of ducklings, 
which are not so apt to eat young plants. 

Pairing and Laying. — One drake is said to be sufficient for eight to ten 
ducks, while others limit the number to from four to six. In a wild state 
there is only one duck to a drake, and, therefore, we should say, the fewer 
the better, — the chief difference of the tame duck from the wild arising 
from more abundant and regular food. 

Ducks begin to lay towards the end of February, and sometimes earlier ; 
but so far from laying the limited number of about sixteen eggs, some will 
lay as many as fifty, and even nearly double that number. They do not, 
however, usually continue to lay later than the month of May, unless they 
be very well fed, — the great secret of rendering them prolific, provided 
they do not become too fat. 

At the laying season, ducks require to be looked after, inasmuch as they 
are not so easily brought to lay in the nests prepared for them as common 
fowls, but will stray away to hedges and other by-places to lay, and will 
even sometimes drop their eggs in the water. When they succeed in laying 
out their number of eggs without their nest being discovered, they will 
hatch them, and not make their appearance till they bring their young 
family home to the yard, except in cold, raw weather. As ducks usually 
lay either at night or very early in the morning, it is a good way to secure 
their eggs, to confine them during the period when they must lay, — a cir- 
cumstance easily ascertained by feeling the vent. It will accordingly be 
requisite;, at the approach of the laying season, in spring, to give them food 
in a particular place, three or four times a day, to prevent them from wan- 
dering ; and when once they can be got to lay in a nest prepared for them, 
they will probably continue to do bo, without laying away. 

Duck Eggs. — The eggs of the duck are readily known from those of the 
common fowl by their bluish color and larger size, the shell being smoother, 
not so thick, and with much fewer pores. When boiled, the white is never 
curdy, like that of a new-laid hen's egg, but transparent and glassy, while the 
yelk is much darker in color. The flavor is by no means so delicate. For 
onielefs, Jiowever, as well as for puddings and pastry, duck eggs are much 
■ 35 



410 fakmee's hand-book. 

better than hen's eggs, giving a finer color and flavor, and requiring less 
butter. 

Hatching and Care of Ducklings. — The domestic duck is not naturally 
disposed to hatch ; but in order to induce it to do so, towards the end of 
laying, two or three other eggs may be left in each nest, taking caie every 
morning to take away the oldest laid, that they may not be spoiled. From 
eight eggs to ten may be given, according to the size of the duck and her 
ability to cover them, taking particular care not to sprinkle them with cold 
water, as some authors wrongly advise. The duck requires some care 
when she sits; for, as she cannot go to her food, attention must be paid to 
place it before her — and she will be content with it, whatever be its quality. 
It has even been remarked, that when ducks are too well fed, they will not 
sit well. 

The first broods of the season are usually the best, because the heat of 
summer helps much to strengthen the ducklings, — the cold always prevent- 
ing the later broods from getting strong. 

The duck is apt to let her eggs get cold, when she hatches. The duck- 
hngs are no sooner excluded than the mother lakes them to the water, 
where they dabble and eat at the very first, and many of them perish^ if the 
weather is cold. 

All these reasons often induce poultry-keepers to have duck's eggs 
hatched by hens or turkey-hens; and, being more assiduous than ducks, 
these borrowed mothers take an affection for the young, to watch over 
which requires great attention, because, as these are unable to accompany 
them on the water, — for which they show the greatest propensity as soon as 
tliey are excluded, — they follow the mother hen on dry land, and get a 
little hardy, before they are allowed to take to the water without any guide. 

It is likely that, if a considerable quantity of eggs could be collected 
together, to make one large brood, the art of hatching chickens in an arti- 
ficial manner, applied to ducks, would be attended with greater success than 
with chickens, as they are less difficult to rear. It would be sufficient to 
keep them shut up for twelve days in a duck-house made on purprse, and 
where it would be proper to leave a few buckets of water for them to dabble 
in, — or a tank might be provided for them, the water of which might be kept 
slightly warm by the pipes used to heat the buildings of the poultry-yard. 
At the expiration of this time they might be set at liberty, and they would 
get on surprisingly, provided they had a pond or a little ditch in the enclos- 
ure, where they might be turned in, or a small rivulet running through it. 
Ducklings can do without a mother as soon as they are excluded. Their 
food, for the first days, may be crumbled bread sopped in milk, and a little 
ale or cider. Some days after, a paste njay be made for them with a bunch 



POULTRY, OR THE VARIOUS DOMESTIC FOWLS. 411 

of nett.e-leaves, boiled tender, chopped up very small, and of a third of the 
flour of maize, buckwheat, or barley. 

As soon as they have a little strength, a good deal of pot-herbs may be 
given them, raw and chopped up,, mixed with a little bran soaked in water, 
barley, mashed acorns, boiled potatoes, beaten up with a little fish, when it 
can be had. All these equally agree with ducklings, which devour the dif- 
ferent substances they meet with, and show, from their most tender age, a 
voracity which they always retain. To strengthen the young ones before 
they take to the water, they must be secured under coops during eight or 
ten days, and taking care to put a little water under the coops. 

When ducklings have been hatched under a common hen, or a turkey- 
hen, they are not allowed to go to the water till they become a little hardy 
by remaining on land ; but the moment they see water, they naturally 
plunge into it, to the great alarm of their foster-mother, who cannot follow 
them. It is necessary, to prevent accidents, to take care that such duck- 
lings come regularly home every evening ; but precautions must be taken 
before the ducklings are permitted to mingle with the old ducks, lest the 
latter ill-treat and kill them, though ducks are by no means so pugnacious 
and jealous of new-comers as common fowls uniformly are. 

Fattening. — Butchers' offal is excellent for fattening ducks, as it does 
not give the flesh the rank, disagreeable flavor, which it imparts to pork. 
Acorns, on the contrary, while they are good for fattening, injure the flavor 
of the flesh, and barley renders it insipid, or woolly. 

As the duck is both a voracious feeder and fond of liberty, it will fatten 
very well when allowed to roam about, provided it has abundance of food ; 
but it expedites the process of fattening to have recourse to coops, quiet, 
and darkness. Ground malt, mixed with water, is said to be an excellent 
food for fattening, though it is expensive. In Lower Normandy, where 
great numbers of ducks are reared and fattened, the poulterer prepares a 
paste with the flour of buckwheat, made into gobbets, with which they 
are crammed thrice a day, for eight or ten days, when, though not full fat, 
they are sufl!iciently so for use. In some places, when ducks have been 
rendered tolerably fat by being at large, they are cooped up by eights or 
tens, in a dark place, whence they are taken out morning and evening to be 
crammed. This is done by a girl, who crosses their wings on her knees, 
opens their bill with her left hand, while with her right she stuffs them 
with boiled maize. Many ducks are suffocated by the operation, and killed 
outright ; but their flesh is not the worse for the table, provided that they be 
immediately bled. It requires a fortnight to complete the process, which 
mcreases the size of their liver enormously, and oppresses their breathing in 



412 farmee's hand-book. 

a distressing manner. The sign of their being sufficiently fat is, when the 
tail opens like a fan, from the fat pressing on the roots of the feathers. 

DISEASES OF THE FOREGOING FOWLS. 

The most common diseases to which fowl are liable are. Molting, Pip, 
Roup, Asthma, Diarrhoea, Indigestion, Apoplexy, Fever, Consumption, 
Gout, Corns, Bloody-flux, Costiveness. They are also liable to accidents, 
producing Fractures, Bruises, Ulcers, Loss of Feathers, &c. All these 
we will treat of in the above order. 

Molting-. — While, as being a natural process, of annual occurrence, it 
can scarcely be called a disease, yet it must be treated of as if it really were 
one, from consideration of the effects which it produces. It is most danger- 
ous to young chickens. With adult birds, warmth and shelter are usually 
all that are required, united with diet of a somewhat extra stimulating and 
nutritious character. 

In a state of nature, molting occurs to wild birds precisely when their 
food is most plenty ; hence, naUire herself points out that the fowl should, 
during that period, be furnished with an extra quantity of food. After the 
third year, the period of molting becomes later and later, until it will some- 
times happen in January or February. Of course, when this occurs, every 
care as to warmth should be bestowed. The use of Cayenne pepper alone 
will generally suffice ; and if this simple treatment does not help them 
through, they can seldom be saved. 

The feathers will at times drop off the fowls, when not molting, to a 
very considerable extent, rendering them often nearly naked. This is a 
disorder similar to the mange in many other animals ; and the same sort of 
treatment, viz., alteratives, such as sulphur and nitre, — in the proportions 
of one quarter each, mixed with fresh butter, — a change of diet, cleanliness, 
and fresh air, will generally be found sufficient to effect a cure. Be careful 
not to confound this affection with molting. The distinction is, that in the 
latter case the feathers are replaced by new ones as fast as they are cast ; in 
the former this is not so, and the animal becomes bald. 

Pip. — A disease to which young fowls are peculiarly liable, and that, 
too, chiefly in hot weather. The symptoms are, a thickening of the mem- 
brane of the tongue, especially towards the tip. This speedily becomes an 
obstruction of sufficient magnitude to impede the breathing ; this produces 
gasping for breath, and at this stage the beak will often be held open. The 
plumage becomes ruffled and neglected, especially about the head and neck. 
The appetite gradually goes, and the poor bird shows its distress by pining, 
moping, and seeking solitude and darkness. 

The cause of this disease is want of clean watef, and feeding upon hot 



POULTRY, OE THE VARIOUS DOMESTIC FOWLS, 413 

food. To cure it, most writers recommend the immediate removal of the 
thickened membrane. It is better, however, to anoint the part with fresh 
butter or cream. Prick the scab with a needle, if you like, and give inter- 
nally a pill, about the size of a marble, composed of equal parts of scraped 
garlic and horse-radish, with as much Cayenne pepper as will ontweigh a 
grain of wheat. Mix with fresh butter, and give it every morning, keeping 
the fowl warm. Keep the bird supplied with plenty of fresh water ; preserve 
it from molestation by keeping it by itself, and it will generally get well, 
if the disease is attended to in time. Do not cram the mouth with snuff; 
when, however, the disease depends on the presence of a worm, forcing 
tobacco-smoke down the bird's throat is beneficial. 

Roup. — The disease to which this term is improperly applied is an 
inflammation of the tail gland. The true Roup is much analogous to influ- 
enza in man, and even more so to the well-known distemper among dogs. 
The symptoms are, a difliculty of breathing, constant gaping, dimness of 
sight, lividity of the eyelids, a discharge from the nostrils that gradually 
becomes purulent and fetid, loss of appetite, and extreme thirst. Some- 
times this disease appears to occur independently of any obvious cause ; but 
dirt, too hot feeding, and want of exercise, are amongst the most usual. 

As to treatment, we will record a case related by an intelligent farmer. 
A cock, of about four or five months old, apparently turned out by some- 
body to die, came astray, and was in the last stage of roup. The discharge 
from his mouth and nostrils was very considerable, and extremely pungent 
and fetid, while his eyes appeared to be affected with an inflammation sim- 
ilar to Egyptian ophthalmia. The cock was placed at the fireside, his 
mouth and nostrils washed with soap and warm water, his eyes washed 
with warm milk and water, and the head gently rubbed with a dry cloth. 
Internally he was given long pellets, formed of barley meal and flour equal 
parts, mustard and grated ginger equal parts, and half the first-named. He 
was also given to drink lukewarm water, sweetened with treacle. In three 
days this bird began to see, and in a week his sight was almost wholly 
restored. A little mustard was still given him in his water, and then somo 
flour of sulphur. He had also a pinch of calomel in some dough. He was 
gradually brought out, so as to inure him to the cold, and in a month was 
as well as ever. Having molted late, the same bird caught cold at the first 
frost, and suffered a relapse, from which, however, he was recovered by 
warmth alone. 

Other poultry-keepers recommend a modification of the above, — warmth 
and cleanliness, as matters of course ; — but, for pellets, — powdered gen- 
tian 1 part, do. ginger 1 part, Epsom salts li part, flour of sulphur ^ part, 
— made up with butter, and given every morning. 
35* 



414 farmer's hand-book. 

If the discharge should become fetid, the mouth, nostrils, and eyes, may 
be bathed with a weak solution, composed of equal parts of chloride of lime 
and acetate of lead. Fomentation with an infusion of camomile flowers ia 
highly beneficial. 

The other affection, that improperly passes under this name, viz., swell- 
ing of the tail-gland, may be treated as a boil. If it become inconveniently 
liard and ripe, let the pus or matter out with a penknife, and it will soon get 
well. 

Asthma. — This is characterized by gaping, panting, and difficulty of 
breathing. We need not go far to seek for a cause. Our poultry are origin- 
ally natives of tropical climates ; and, however well climatized they may 
appear, they nevertheless require a more equable temperature than our 
climate, unaided by artificial means, can afford. Hence, coughs, colds, 
catarrh, asthma, pulmonary consumption. To remedy it, give warmth, 
with small repeated doses of hippo-powder and sulphur, mixed with butter, 
and add Cayenne pepper. 

DiarrhoRa is occasioned by damp, and sometimes by improper food. 
Remove the bird into dry quarters ; change the food ; if it become very 
severe, give chalk ; add a little starch, mixed with Cayenne, to porridge, 
and give it warm. 

Indigestion. — Caused by over-feeding, and want of exercise. Remedy 
by lessening the quantity of food ; turn the fowl into an open walk, and give 
some powdered gentian and Cayenne in the food. 

Apoplexy. — Symptoms — staggering, shaking of the head, and a sort of 
tipsy aspect. Some persons have, from ignorance of the true cause of this 
affection, treated it as proceeding from intestinal irritation, and prescribed 
castor-oil, with syrup of ginger, &c. Scanty food, and that of light quality, 
and the application of leeches to the back of the neck, constitute an effect- 
ual remedy, — the knife, however, is the truest one. 

Fever. — Fowls are frequently subject to febrile affections. The mode of 
treatment is simple — light food and Uttle of it, change of air, and, if neces- 
sary, aperient medicines, such as castor-oil, witli a little burnt butter. 

Consumption. — If not incurable, change of air and warmth is about the 
only means of doing any good. 

Gout. — Its effects are obvious. Pellets of colocynth may be used ; but, 
if the fowl had been killed before becoming so old, it would have been 
better. Sulphur may be found useful. 

Corns. — These may generally be extracted with the point of a pen-knife 
If ulcerated, as will often occur when neglected, touch with lunar-caustic 
and you may thus succeed in establishing healthy granulations. 



POULTRY, OR THE VARIOUS DOMESTIC FOWLS. 415 

Bloody-Jtux generally proceeds from an aggravated diarrhoea. Rice 
boiled in milk, or starch, usually effects a cure. 

Cosliveness. — This affection will, in general, yield to castor-oil and 
burned butter. The diet should be sparing. Thin porridge will be found 
useful. 

Fractures and Bruises. — In the case of fractures, the best way, iu most 
cases, is to put the fowl to death, without loss of time. The same may be 
said of bruises. 

Ulcers. — These may be kept clean, dressed with a little lard, or washed 
with a weak solution of sugar of lead, as their aspect may seem to indicate. 
If they appear sluggish, they may be touched with bluestone. 

Loss of Feathers. — The accidental stripping of the feathers must not be 
confounded with the mangy affpction already Heated of. The difference 
will be seen by examining the state of the skin where it is exposed. 

Peacocks and Guinea Hens. — Although now comparatively common, 
these two birds are more raised for their appearance than for mere profit. 
The Peacock has always been admired for its magnificent plumage. Its 
flesh is dark colored and coarse grained. The flesh of the Guinea 
Hen though dark, is tender and of a fine flavor. As the both of these 
birds are difficult to rear, they can never become popular barnyard, 
favorites. 



CHAPTER IX. 

BEES AND SILKWORMS. 

DIFFERENT CLASSES OF BEES — POSITION OF THE APIARY — HIVES AND BOXES 

OBTAINING STOCK — SWARMING THE HONEY HARVEST MANAGEMENT 

DURING WINTER AND EARLY SPRING HOW TO TREAT THE PRODUCE OF THE 

HONEY HARVEST — THE DISEASES AND ENEMIES OF BEES — SILKWORMS. 

I. DIFFERENT CLASSES OF BEES. 

The Queen. — The number of bees contained in a hive will, of course, 
vary with their condition, and the accommodations they possess ; whatever, 
however, be their numbers, their occupations are alike, and are similarly 
distributed amongst the three classes composing the inmates of the hive. 
These classes are, first, the Queen-bee, the sovereign of the community, and 
literally the prolific parent of her subjects. The queen-bee reigns alone ; 
but one of her sex is permitted to exist in a hive at the one time, and to 
her protection and comfort are the energies of the other bees to be directed. 
The queen-bee mav be recognized by her greater length of body, which is 

Fig. 241. 




of a blackish color above, and of a yellowish tint beneath. She is usually, 

but not by any means invariably, of a larger size than either of the other 

classes ; her abdomen contains two ovaries, or receptacles for eggs ; and her 

sting is of a curved form. The queen-bee commences depositing her eggs 

when five days old ; during the heat of the season she lays from one hundred 

and fifty to two hundred eggs per day, and lays with little or no intermission 

from early spring to the middle of autumn. 

^ ^ ^ (416) 



BEES, 417 

Tlie Drone. — The second class of bees are the drones. These are larger 
in the body than either the queen or the working-bee. Their head is rounder, 
proboscis shorter, eyes fuller, and no sting. They also make more noise in 
flying than the other bees. The drones are the males of the hive ; by 

Fig. 242. 




them the queen is impregTiated and her eggs fertilized, though this latter 
may be said to be a point not yet definitely settled by those who have inves- 
tigated the subject. 

During the summer the drones remain dispersed through different parts 
of the hive, in a state of idleness ; but towards its close they assemble 
together in companies, as if preparing for their impending fate, which they 
await in patience, or rather, perhaps, in motionless lethargy. At the end 
of summer, in August or the end of July, they are ignominiously expelled 
from the hive, and even slain, by the workers, as if they, being no longer of 
any utility to the community, should not be fed from the store during 
winter. 

The Working-bee. — The third class is the working-bee, the most inter- 
esting of all. It is considerably less than either the queen-bee or the drone ; 
it is about half an inch in length, of a blackish-brown color, covered with 
closely-set hairs all over the body, which aid it in carrying the farina it 
gathers from the flowers ; and on the fore-arm, as it were, of the hind legs, 

Fig. 243. 




ie a cavity, of cup-like form, for the reception of the little kneaded ba'? of. 
pollen. It is the working-bee which collects honey and pollen, and wh'ch 
forms the cells, cleans out the hive, protects the queen, looks after the con- 
dition of the young brood, destroys or expels the drones, when those are no 
longer necessary to the well-being of the community ; who, in slort, performs 

2b 



418 farmer's hand-book. 

all offices connected with the hive and its contents, save only those which 
have reference to the reproduction of the species. The working-bees are of 
no sex, and are furnished with a horny and hollow sting, through which 
poison is ejected into the wound it makes. This poison is of an acrid 
character, and of great power in its effects, proving fatal to insects, and 
instances are on record of its proving so to horses and cattle, and even to 
human beings. When human beings, however, are stung, they can instan- 
taneously obtain relief by pressing upon the point stung with the tube of a 
key ; this will extract the sting, and relieve the pain, and spirits of harts- 
horn will at once remove it. 

Structure of the Bee. — It is composed, like insects generally, of three 
parts — the head, thorax or chest, and abdomen. The shape of the head 
varies somewhat, as also does its size, in the three classes ; it is attached to 
the thorax by a thin ligament, and the thorax is attached in a simi- 
lar manner to the abdomen. In front of the head are two eyes, which 
are protected by hairs from any substaiices that might otherwise injure 
them, and on the top of the head are three smaller eyes. This visual 
apparatus renders the bee's power of sight a very extended one. Two 
feelers spring from between the front eyes, and curve outwards on each 
side ; these are endowed with a very acute sense of touch, and doubtless 
perform many of the offices of eyes in the dark recesses of the hive. It 
is probably by the assistance of these delicate and highly sensitive organs 
that these insects form their combs, fill their cells, and feed the young. 
The mouth of the bee is composed of a pair of jaws, which open vertically, 
and act — opening and shutting — to the right and left. These are fur- 
nished with teeth at their extremities. The mouth is also furnished with a 
very minute tongue, and with a long, slender instrument, called a proboscis, 
or trunk, resembling in form and use that of the elephant ; it is composed 
of numerous cartilaginous rings, fringed with minute hairs. This instru- 
ment does not, however, act as a tube, but by rolling about and attaching to 
the hairs which fringe it whatever substances the insect wishes to convey 
to the mouth. From about the base of the proboscis also arise the labial 
feelers, as they are called, which are also furnished with a hairy fringe. 

The bee has three pairs of legs, of which the posterior are the longest, 
and the anterior the shortest. These are formed and articulated much like 
the same limbs in man, and are attached to the thorax ; at their extrem- 
ities we find two little hooks, which appear like sickles, or reaping-hooks, 
and have their points opposed to each other. By means of these the insect 
suspends itself to the top of \e hive, or in any other position it may desire. 

To the superior portion of the thorax are attached four wings, consisting 
of two pair, of unequal size. These wings are hooked together, in ordei 



BEES. 419 

ihat they may act simultaneously, and not only serve to convey the insecta 
from place to place, through the air, but, by the humming, buzzing noise 
their motion produces, to give notice of their departure from, and return 
to, the hive, as well as possibly to animate their fellows in their mutual 
labors. 

Interiorly the thorax contains the oesophagus, or gullet, which traverses 
its extent on its way into the abdomen, where it dilates into, first, the honey- 
bag, which is furnished with two pouches posteriorly, and a muscular appa- 
ratus, by which it is enabled to give forth its saccharine contents ; and, 
secondly, into the true stomach, in which digestion goes on, for the nour- 
ishment of the insect, and the secretion of wax. Next to the stomach is 
situated the sting ; this consists of two darts in a sheath. The whole appa- 

Fin;. 244. 




ratus enters the wound, and the two small darts then enter still further ; 
these are barbed, and, on the insect withdrawing them, aid in widening the 
puncture, and thus afford greater room for the introduction of the poison. 
At the base of the sting the bag containing the poison is placed. 

The bee respires by means o{ spiracles, or breathing-holes, situated in the 
thorax, beneath and behind the wings. Through these air is admitted into 
the thorax, for the purpose of oxygenating the circulating system, — a fact 
which proves the necessity for duly ventilating the hives or bee-boxes. 

II. POSITION OF THE APIARY. 

The details of the domestic operations of the bee in the cells, — a figura 
of which is seen in Fig. 245, — we do not intend to present in this place, but 
proceed to speak of those matters more particularly pertaining to the plan 
of management pursued by the bee-keeper or farmer. 

Aspect. — The most favorable aspect for the hives or boxes is south- 
westerly, which, however, may advantageously be modified or varied 
according to the season. In spring, for instance, the aspect would be more 
impioved by inclining more to the west; in autumn, the reverse. The 
reason for this is, that the morning sun is prejudicial to the interests of the 
hive, — the bees receiving the light and going forth too early, — a thing 
objectionable on two accounts ; first, that, especially in early spring, the 
dawn is too cold, and will occasion the death of numbers, if they are induced 



420 



FARMER S HAND-BOOK. 



to venture forth ; and, secondly, because the bees, if they commence opera- 
tions so early, become wearied before they have performed a good day's 
work, and the afternoon is a more advantageous period for their labors. 



Fiff. 245. 




Location. — The place for fixing the stand should be a dry soil, — and a 
sandy one is better. It should slope towards the front, in order to carry 
off the surface water produced by occasional rains, and should not, on any 
account, be exposed to the droppings from the eaves of houses, or even 
hedges. Shelter is essential, especially behind and on the east of the 
hives, — a house or high wall is the best; it is also recommended that the 
stand be placed in a sort of small, open shed, well painted on the outside, to 
protect it from the weather ; a few shrubs about the stand are also good as 
additional shelter. Some recommend high trees for the purpose of keeping 
the air calm, lest the bees should be blown down, when returning home. 
High trees are not advisable. Bees are seldom blown to the ground by mere 
wind, but even when they are, they can, in a great majority of cases, 
recover themselves ; whereas, if blown amongst trees, they will be sure to 
be whipped so violently by the branches, that they are absolutely hurled to 
the ground with such force as to render their recovery hopeless. The bees 
also fly low, on their return, when they arrive at the immediate neighborhood 
of their stand, and, consequently, high trees would be not only useless, but 
inconvenient. Whatever trees, therefore, are planted in the immediate 
vicinity of the hive, should be of low size, with bushy heads, in order that 
the swarms which settle on them may be more easily hived. 

Avoid a site near mills or other noisy places, or the neighborhood of 
offensive odor, as factories and the like ; and if, as occasionallj may happen 



BEES. 421 

the stand be placed against the garden wall, behind which is the farm- 
yard, let not a dung-hill be built against the opposite side, as it may cause 
a desertion of the boxes. Do not place the stand where there are rat or 
mouse holes. 

Water is essential to the well-being of bees ; it must, however, be pre- 
sented to them judiciously, or it will prove a greater evil than a good. If 
there is a shallow, rippling brook through the garden, so much the better ; 
if not, place near the stand small, shallow pans of water, and put some 
pebbles in them. This water should be changea daily. It is objectionable 
to have a pond or canal in the neighborhood ; thousands of bees will be lost 
every season through such a means, as they will be constantly blown into 
them when returning heavily laden to the hive, especially in the evening, 
when wearied, after the toil of an industriously-spent day. The pebbles in 
the troughs are for the bees to rest on while drinking. 

It is well if the garden is abundantly planted with such shrubs and 
flowers as afford honey, in order to prevent, as much as possible, the neces- 
sity of the bees constantly traveling to an inconvenient distance in search 
of food It is well also to so contrive as to have a succession of such food, 
adapted to the season, — a matter comparatively easily managed, and of some 
consequence to the well-being of the bees. Among these plants may be 
enumerated broom, furz or gorse, thyme, especially lemon-thyme, clover, 
crocus, heaths, fruit-trees, mustard, mignonette, sage, single roses, rad- 
ishes, primroses, parsley, peas, parsnips, marigolds, violets, lilies, laurus- 
tin, daffodils, celery, cauliflowers, asparagus, sunflowers, wall-flowers, 
borage, winter vetches, buckwheat. 

Hives should on no account be so placed as to be exposed to the noonday 
sun ; this will injure the honey and melt it, and will raise the temperature 
of the hive so as to produce unwished-for swarming, besides otherwise 
annoying and injuring the bees. A few shrubs, therefore, should be so 
placed as to cast their shadow across the stand during the heat of day. Let 
the shrubs be of such a description as the bees are fond of, and they may 
also be disposed so as to give the apiary a pleasing and picturesque 
appearance. 

Bee-houses are only fit for keeping the bee-boxes in during winter ; — one, 
two, or three sets of collateral boxes, are as many as any moderate bee- 
keeper will desire, or be able conveniently to attend, and these can be kept 
each in a little shed by itself. Bee-hives should never be placed close to 
each other, as they m<ist necessarily be in the bee-houses recommended by 
Bome, for bees are naturally very irritable and pugnacious insects, and if 
two colonies be kept too near each other, battles will ensue, and the weaker 
hire be injured or destroyed. 
36 



422 farmee's hand-book. 



m. HIVES AND BOXES. 

Requisites, — The old straw, conical-shaped hive, is too well known t« 
need description, and, perhaps, too unprofitable to be worthy of it. The chief 
objects to be effected by the use of a suitable receptacle for bees are, first, the 
power of depriving them of their honey at pleasure, and without injury to 
them ; secondly, the obtaining of it in its pure and uncontaminated form ; 
thirdly, the means of enlarging their accommodation when necessary, and 
the consequent prevention df swarming. 

Different Kinds of Hives and Boxes. — Among other hives of considerable 
mririt, that called the Nutt hive is worthy of being noticed and explained, 
and the opinions of Mr. Nutt, the inventor, are of sufficient value to be 
presented in this place. According to Mr. Nutt, bee-boxes should be from 
eleven to twelve inches square inside, and nine or ten inches deep in the 
clear. The best wood for them is by some said to be red cedar, — the 
chief grounds of preference of which wood are, its keeping away moths, 
and its being a bad conductor of heat. But of whatever kind of wood bee- 
boxes are made, it should be well seasoned, perfectly sound, and free from 
what carpenters term shakes. Good, sound red deal answers the purpose 
very well. The sides of the boxes, particularly the front, should be, at the 
least, an inch and a half thick ; for the ends, top, and back part, good deal, 
one inch thick, is sufficiently substantial ; the ends that form the interior 
divisions and openings must be of half-inch stuff", well-dressed off, so that 
when the boxes and the dividing tins are closed, — that is, when they are 
all placed together, — the two adjoining ends should not exceed five eighths 
of an inch in thickness. These communication ends — the bars of which 
should be exactly parallel with each other — form a communication or 
division, as the case may require, which is very important to the bee, and 
by which the said boxes can be immediately divided, without injuring any 
part of the combs, or deluging the bees with the liquid honey, which so 
frequently annoys them, in extracting their sweets from the piled or 
storified boxes. The receptacles or frame-work for the ventilators, which 
appear upon each side of the end boxes, — the one with the cover off, 
the other with it on, — must be four inches square, with a perforated 
flat tin, of nearly the same size ; and in the middle of that tin must be a 
round hole, to correspond with the hole through the top of the box, in the 
centre of the frame-work just mentioned, an inch in diameter, to admit the 
perforated cylinder tin ventilator, nine inches long. This flat tin must 
have a smooth piece of wood, well made, to fit it closely, and to cover the 
frame- work, so as to carry off the wet ; then placing this cover over the 
square perforated tin, the box will be secure from the action of wind aud 



BEES. 423 

rain. The perforated cylinder serves both for a ventilator and a^so for a 
secure and convenient receptacle for a thermometer, at any time when it is 
necessary to ascertain the temperature of the box into which the cylinder is 
inserted. Within this frame-work, — and so that the perforated flat tin, 
already described, may completely cover them, — at each corner, make a 
hole with a three-eighths'centre-bit, through the top of the box. These four 
small holes materially assist the ventilation, and are, in fact, an essential 
part of it. 

We next come to the long floor, on which the three square bee-boxes which 
constitute a set stand collaterally. This floor is the strong top of a long, 
shallow box, made for the express purpose of supporting the three bee-boxes, 
and must, of course, be superficially of such dimensions as those boxes, when 
placed collaterally, require ; or, if the bee-boxes project the eighth part' of an 
inch over the ends and back of this floor-box, so much the better ; because, in 
that case, the rain or wet that may at any time fall upon them will drain off 
completely. For ornament, as much as for use, this floor is made to project 
about two inches in front ; but this projection must be sloped, or made an 
inclined plane, so as to carry off the wet from the front of the boxes. To 
the centre of this projecting front, and on a plane with the edge of the part 
cut away for the entrance of the bees into the pavilion, is attached the 
alighting board, which consists of a piece of planed board, six inches by 
three, having the two outward corners rounded off a little. The passage 
from this alighting board into the pavilion (not seen in the plate, it being in 
the centre of the side not shown) is cut, not out of the edge of the box, but 
out of the floor-board, and should be not less than four inches in length and 
about half an inch in depth, or so as to make a clear half-inch way under the 
edge of the box for the bee passage. This is preferable to a cut in the edge 
of the box, because, being upon an inclined plane, if at any time the wet 
should be driven into the pavilion by a stormy wind, it would soon drain 
out, and the floor become dry ; whereas, if the entrance-passage be cut out 
of the box, the rain, that may and at times will be drifted in, will be kept in, 
and the floor be wet for days, and perhaps for weeks, and be very detrimental 
to the bees. In depth, the floor-box, measured from outside to outside, 
should be four inches, so that if made of three-fourths'-inch deal, there may 
be left for the depth of the box part two inches and a half. Internally it is 
divided into three equal compartments, being one for each bee-box. Admis- 
sion to these compartments, or under-boxes, is by the drawer, or drawer- 
fronts, or blocks, which will be described presently. 

The bottom, oropen edge, of each of the boxes, should be well planed, and 
made so even and square that they will sit closely and firmly upon the afore- 
said floor, and be as air-tight as a good workman can make them. In the 



424 farmer's hand-book. 

floor-board are made three openings, one near the back of each box. These 
openings are of semilunar shape (though any other shape would do as well), 
the straight side of which should not exceed three inches in length, and will 
be most convenient if made parallel with the back edge of the box, and abou* 
an inch from it. They are covered by perforated or by close tin slides, as 
the circumstances of the apiary may require. The drawer, the front of which 
appears under the middle box, is of great importance, because it affords one 
of the greatest accommodations to the bees in the boxes. In this drawer ia 
placed, if necessity require it, a tin made to fit it ; and in that tin another thin 
frame, covered with book-muslin, or other fine strainer, which floats on the 
liquid deposited for the sustenance of the bees. Here, then, is a feeder, 
containing the prepared sweet, in the immediate vicinity of the mother hive, 
and without admitting the cold or the robbers to annoy the bees. When the 
drawer thus prepared with bee-food is closed, the tin placed over the semi- 
lunar aperture must be drawn, which will open to the bees a way to their 
food in the drawer beneath. The heat of the hive follows the bees into the 
feeding department, which soon becomes the temperature of their native 
domicile. The box-fronts on each side of the feeding-drawer are formed of 
a hit of talc suspended over a hole on the outside, thus permitting egress, 
but precluding ingress. By means of this contrivance, the number of bees 
may be increased without alarming or annoying them, and they can likewise 
escape when being deprived of one or other of the collateral boxes. This 
contrivance further precludes the intrusion of insect enemies. 

The centre is perforated on the top, and over the hole a bell-glass is placed, 
which, when the hive is filled, the bees fill with honey which is of the 
purest description. Wooden fittings or covers are provided for the protec- 
tion of these glasses. 

The bees, being placed in the centre box, or pavilion, soon commence 
operations, and speedily fill it with honey. When full, which may be ascer- 
tained by looking through a window fixed in the back of the box, the tin 
slide which separates it from the bell-glass must be drawn ; this is best done 
on a warm day, and the comb should previously be cut through with a thin 
wire. Before taking off the glass, the operator should pause for a few 
minutes, to observe whether there be any unusual stir among the imprisoned 
bees ; for if they do not appear alarmed, the queen is among them, and 
in that case the slide must be withdrawn, and the operation postponed to 
another day. 

In taking away the glass, envelop it in a silk handkerchief, and remove it 
about ten yards from the boxes ; then place it a little on one side, so as to 
permit the imprisoned bees to escape, which they will do in a few minutes. 
When occasion requires, the bees are to be similarly admitted into the side 



BEES. 425 

boxes, by drawing the slides ; but in remoTing one of these boxes some pre- 
cautions require to be used. For instance, open the ventilator the night 
previous; this will, by lowering the temperature of the hive, and admitting 
a current of air, induce the bees to leave the box thus treated, and to congre- 
gate in the pavilion. Then put down the slide d, and let the bees remain 
for ten minutes or so in darkness. If the queen be not in the box to be 
taken, any bees that may remain in it will be restless and in confusion. If 
she should be there, tlie commotion will be in the centre box. If the queen 
should be in the box intended to be taken, draw up the slide again, and she 
will soon leave it. Having emptied the full box, return it to its place. Ac- 
cording tQ this system, fumigation is unnecessary, — a child, even, may manage 
the boxes with ease and safety. The centre box, called, on account of ita 
being the breeding place, the pavilion of nature, is never to be meddled with. 
Any person of common ingenuity can form for himself a set of collateral 
boxes, by taking as a stand a piece of strong wood — deal, obtained from an 
old door, or other waste timber ; let it be about four feet long and about two 
feet wide, as thick as can be procured ; place it on four legs, and let the 
edge project over the legs, in order to prevent the incursion of insects ; plane 
the upper surface smooth. Make three boxes, each about ten inches square, 
with, of course, no bottom, and have the edges of the bottomless portion 
planed smooth, so as to lie as close as possible to the board. Cut away a 
portion of the bottom of one side of each box, and in tliat designed for the 
centre box do so on two opposite sides ; — these are for communication. Get 
two sheets of tin, or thin wood, — a piece of a broken tea-chest will do ad- 
mirably, — and place one between each of the collateral boxes and the centre 
one, so as to cut off communication between them, until it is desired to open 
it, when, of course, one of them is withdrawn, and, at the same time, the 
side box, thus opened, will be pushed close to the central one. I-et the 
stand-board be on an inclined plane, sloping towards the front, so as to throw 
off wet, and let the said board project a couple of inches, to serve the bees 
as a place on which to alight. Make a small hole, about half an inch, or 
rather less, in diameter, in front of this centre box, partly in the box and 
partly in the board, for the ingress and egress of its inhabitants. Paint the 
boxes externally, but do so a considerable time before they are required for 
use, and encompass them with the best sort of rough shed that can be con- 
veniently put up ; bore a hole, with a centre-bit, in the top of each box, and 
place a glass vessel over it. When it is necessary to feed the bees, it can 
be done by attaching a feeder to the entrance door, and the holes for the bell- 
glasses will afford ample means of ventilating. In case they should not, 
however, have a hole at the back of each box, stopped with a cork, which 
can be withdrawn for the admission of air when necessary. Take care that 
36* 



426 farmer's hand-book. 

the cork be not pushed entirely through the wood of the box, or it will be so 
cemented by propolis that it cannot, perhaps, be drawn out without injury 
or disturbance to the combs. 

Another mode of forming bee-boxes is as follows : Let them be of as good 
quality as possible, so as to effectually preserve their contents from eithei 
extreme heat or cold, dampness, or any sudden changes of temperature 
The size of the centre box should be about ten and one half inches cube, 
inside measure ; and it would be of advantage to have six bars fixed across 
the top of it, from front to back, which should be one and one-eighth inches in 
width, half an inch in thickness, and half an inch apart — the ends of each 
of which should be neatly rabbeted into the front and back of the box. Over 
the bars should be laid a piece of thin gauze, and upon it the top or cover- 
ing-board of the box, which may have a circular hole in the middle of it, 
securely stopped by a good cork-bung, to be removed for the purpose of 
placing a small bell-glass over the hole, as occasions require. The side 
boxes may be made and used of different sizes, if desired, and to contain from 
350 to 1100 cubic inches each. If the smaller sizes are adopted, the entrance 
to them must be along the hollow part of the bottom-board ; but it would be 
considered more complete to have the side boxes of the same width and 
depth as the centre one, and to have them well fitted and secured together 
during the honey-gathering season. The entrance from the centre to the 
side boxes may then extend along the under edges of each of them from 
front to back, and about three-eighths to one-half an inch in depth ; there 
should also be a perpendicular one, three inches long and half an inch wide, 
up the centre of the end of each of the boxes, the upper part of which should 
reach to within three inches of the top of the box inside. 

The use of bars to the top of boxes is frequently of much service to the 
apiarian, as he can thereby occasionally remove a few of the old combs 
from the box, and can, at any time, have an opportunity of examining the 
state of the interior of the boxes. Before using a new box with bars, aa 
above, a piece of pure and clean brood-comb should be neatly fixed to each, 
on every alternate bar, which may be readily accomplished by the assistance 
of a long and smooth piece of heated iron — the comb, being rubbed for a 
few seconds on the iron, should immediately be applied to the bar, and will 
then, in a short time, firmly adhere to it. 

The use of hives of straw is by many persons still continued and approved : 
and there is no doubt that, when properly made and judiciously managed, 
the returns from them will often equal, or surpass, those from some of the 
more fancy-shaped and costly wooden boxes. 

The size of the straw hive should be from sixteen to seventeen inches in 
diameter, and twelve to thirteen inches in height ; and they should have a 



BEES. 427 

narrow, flat, and thick top of wood, with a circular hole and cork-hung in 
the centre of it, similar to that for wooden boxes. The outer box, in which 
the stock-hive and side boxes are enclosed, having been made wider than 
the interior hives or boxes, should have a partition from front to back, on 
each side of the stock-hive, and the interstices round the centre hive filled 
up with dry sawdust, powdered charcoal, or other suitable materials, which 
will be of service in preserving the temperature of the hive in a congenial 
and uniform state. The communication from the straw stock-hive to the 
side boxes should be along the hollow centre of the bottom-board ; three or 
more circular holes should also be made in the bottom-board on each side, 
in such manner that each of them may be covered with a bell-glass, or that 
one of the larger side hives or boxes may be placed over them, as may suit 
the wishes or convenience of the apiarian. When glasses are used, they 
should be well covered with some soft woollen materials, and a hive or box 
should then be placed over them, to effectually exclude the light, and pre- 
serve them from accidents of any kind, and sudden changes of temperature. 
It is advisable to have the outer box well made, with a neat and substantial 
roof to carry off the wet, &c., and it should be made of such breadth as to 
leave a space of one half inch on each side of the stock-hive. 

A well-informed writer observes, that, if the bees are kept in a straw 
hive, it should be of a large size, and A'ell made, and should be stocked 
with a strong swarm at the usual period of the year. It should be then 
placed on the centre of a stout bottom-board, made long enough to hold a 
small hive or box on each side of it, and having hollow communications 
from the centre hive to the side ones, which can be opened or closed at 
pleasure. When the bees require room in the spring or summer months, 
the entrance from the centre to one of the side hives must be opened, and 
after they have fairly taken possession of it, it mtist be properly ventilated 
by a hole previously formed on the top, and covered with a piece of perfo- 
rated zinc, keeping the temperature between 65^ and 75*^. The three hives 
should have a well-made wooden covering over them, with a span-shaped 
roof to carry off the wet, &c., and an opening at the back for the purpose 
of examining the progress of the bees ; the outer box should be well 
painted, and water-proof, and will greatly assist in regulating the tempera- 
ture of the hives, and in protecting them from extreme cold, dampness, or 
sunshine. 

It matters not much of what wood the boxes are made, provided it is 
Bound, thoroughly seasoned, and well put together. Different opinions are 
entertained as to the size of bee-boxes ; but much depends on the number 
of bees they are to contain, and on the honey locality ; there must also be a 
reference to the proposed mode of working them, for, where no swarming 



428 farmer's hand-book. 

is permitted, a larger hive may be advantageously used. A good size is 
twelve inches square, and nine inches deep within, the thickness throughout 
being not less than an inch. The top of the box ought to project on all 
sides nearly three quarters of an inch, for better protection and appearance, 
and as affording convenience for lifting. On the top a two-inch hole should 
be cut in the centre, for placing a bell-glass, and for the purpose of feeding ; 
and another hole, to receive a ventilator, may be made near the back win- 
dow, that position being better for inspection, and less in the way of the 
bees, than the centre of the hive, which is, or ought to be, the seat of 
breeding, and should not be disturbed. A window may be placed at the 
back and front, five inches high and six or seven inches wide. The best 
and neatest way of securing the windows is by a sliding shutter of zinc. 
This passes into a rabbet to receive it, cut, on the remaining three sides, at 
the back of the lower edge of the moulding. To prevent any wet from 
lodging at the bottom moulding, an opening or two may be easily cut 
through, on the under side, to allow its escape. Place the hive under some 
cover or shed, as a protection from wet and heat. 

The ^^ Leaf Hivc,^^ invented by Huber, consists of eight frames, each 
eighteen inches high and ten inches wide inside, having the uprights and 
top cross-pieces one and a half inches broad, and one thick, so that the eight 
frames, when placed close together, constitute a hive eighteen inches high, 
twelve inches between end and end, and ten inches between back and front, 
all inside measure. The frames are held together by a flat sli"ding-bar on 
each side, secured by wedges and pins. To the first and eighth of these 
frames is attached a frame with glass, and covered with a shutter. The 
body of the hive is protected by a sloping roof, and the entrance is made 
through the thickness of the floor-board. Some dislike the sliding-bars, 
with their pins and wedges, because, in drawing them out, all the frames 
are liable to open, and the observer is exposed to some hazard of annoyance 
from the bees issuing out at every joint ; as a substitute for them, place 
hinges on one side, and a hook-and-eye on each frame on the other, and 
thus any particular leaf may be opened without meddling with the rest In 
taking honey from this hive, the bee-master has the whole interior com- 
pletely under his eye, and at his disposal ; and can choose what combs best 
suit his purpose, both as to quantity and quality, taking care, however, to 
do so only at such periods as will leave the bees time to replenish the 
vacancy before the termination of the honey season. It is also well adapted 
for artificial swarming. By separating the hive into halves, the honey, 
brood-combs, and bees, will, generally speaking, be equally divided; and 
by supplying each half with four empty frames, there will be two hives, 
one half empty, equal in number of bees, of brood, and even of stores. One 



BEES. 429 

of the new hives will possess the queen, and, if the operation has been 
performed at the proper time, — that is to say, a week or ten days before the 
period of natural swarming, — the probability is, there will be a royal brood 
coming forward in the other ; at all events, there will be plenty of eggs and 
larvae of the proper age for forming an artificial queen. 

With regard to the use of sticks or cross-pieces, some object to them, aa 
only an annoyance to the bees ; and there is little fear of the combs falling, 
except in very deep hives, — at any rate, it may be prevented by contracting 
the lower part a little. The best way of doing this is by working a 
wooden hoop inside the bottom band of the hive; it should be perforated 
through its whole course, and the perforations made in an oblique direction, 
BO distant from each other as to cause all the stitches of the hive to range 
in an uniform manner. The hoop gives greater stability to the hive, pre- 
serves the lower edge from decay, and affords facility in moving it. A 
circular piece of wood (turned with a groove at the edge, to retain it in its 
place) should be worked into the crown, having through it an inch-and-a- 
half hole. With a little ingenuity, the bees may be fed through this open- 
ing, — a better method than the ordinary one, at the bottom of a hive. A 
piece of wood or tin will commonly cover the hole ; but at times, especially 
in winter, it may be used for the purpose of ventilation, and allowing the 
impure air of the hive to escape. In this case, a bit of perforated zinc or 
tin should be placed over it, which, when stopped up by the bees, can be 
replaced by a clean one. An earthen pan is a common cover to a straw 
hive ; and this may be slightly raised by wedges on the four sides, to per- 
mit a small space underneath. Of whatever material the outer covering 
consists, it must project so far on all sides as to protect the hive from the 
least moisture. This cannot be too much guarded against ; and whether 
of wood or straw, all hives ought to be well painted at the beginning, and 
kept so. 

To have a simple and cheap hive, get a common straw hive, of somewhat 
larger dimensions than common, and cut it across (about one third of its 
length) from the upper or conical end ; fit to this end a round piece of wood 
about an inch in thickness, having in its centre a hole about an inch and a 
tialf in diameter, fitted with a cork or bung. Take another hive of ordinary 
dimensions, and place it over this. This is called capping. When, during 
the proper season, the bees have filled the lower part of the hive, and show 
symptoms of requiring more room, you have only to draw out the cork, and 
place the cap over the board. This acts as a bell-glass, and the honey 
which will be collected in it will not be inferior to that procured from the 
most costly set of bee-boxes. A coating of Roman cement on the exterior 
surface of these hives will render them almost everlasting. 



430 farmer's hand-book. 

Glass hives are not to be recommended. Bees love darlcness, and hat© 
light or observation. In a state of nature they seek some hollow, vacant 
spot beneath a bank or rock, the cleft of a tree, or some similarly dark and 
secluded place. 

Huish is of the opinion that straw is the best material for making hives, 
because it is clean, wholesome, dry, impervious to the effects of the 
weather; and being a warm advocate for the deprivation of a hive, in pref- 
erence to the massacre of the bees, the particular shape of the hive became 
a matter of the first consideration, and secondly, so to construct it that the 
use of the sticks could be entirely abolished. In some parts of Greece, the 
hives resemble exactly a large flower-pot, and he considered that that shape 
offered to him every advantage which he was desirous of obtaining. The 
combs, being begun at the top, would necessarily be larger than at the 
bottom, and thus, acting on the principles of the wedge, they would be 
prevented from falling down, and the extraction of them from the top would, 
in comparison from the bottom, be a matter of great facility. In order, 
however, to effect the extraction of the combs from the top, it was evident 
*hat that advantage could not be gained were the top of the hive to be of 
one piece, for as such it could not be lifted without moving the whole mass 
of the combs, which, in the first place, would be next to an impossibility, 
and, in the second, would tend to the utter ruin of the hive. Having, there- 
fore, constructed a hive of the shape of a flower-pot, making the diameter 
of the base not much smaller than that of the top, he placed a projecting 
band at the top, on which he placed seven bars, according to the annexed 
figure. These bars are fastened to the band of straw by small wooden 
pegs, which are easily drawn out when a honey-comb is to be extracted. 

Fig. 246. 




With the knowledge that bees will not construct their combs on an insecure 
foundation, he placed a piece of network over the bars, of which the meshes 
are of a middling size, by which, in a degree, the bees were forced to attach 
their combs to the bars, and thereby rendering their extraction more easy. 
Over the network he placed a board of five divisions, attached to each other 



BEES. 431 

by hinges , so that any part of the interior of the hive could be examined 
without exposing- the whole. The network was evidently an annoyance to 
the bees, for in almost every instance the greater portion of it was nibbled 
away. In the lapping-board nine holes were made, over which plates of 
perforated tin were put, in order that the perspiration might escape, which 
prevents the combs assuming that black appearance which is in general so 
great an eyesore. According to this construction, the deprivation of the 
hive is very easily eiTected, and may be accomplished by the most timid 
person. The hive being covered with a top, according to the annexed cut, 
it is taken off, and one of the side flaps being lifted up, the position of the 

Fig. 247. * 



p- 


LJ 


■^M 


J 


.;_) 


" ^ 


ll 


'^ 





comb immediately exhibits itself. If it has not been constructed exactly 
parallel with the bar, the opposite side may be examined, and that comb 
selected for extraction which presents the greatest facility. It is, however, 
necessary that the operator should have in readiness a pair of bellows, to 
the orifice of which is attached a small tin box, with the lid and bottoin well 
perforated, into which some old rags or dried leaves, in an ignited state, 
must be placed ; and thus, being provided with the object most dreaded by 
the bees, — namely, smoke, — as soon as the flap is opened, and the bees 
present themselves, they can be driven away ; and should they show any 
disposition to return, the repetition of the smoke will curb in them all future 
inclination to annoy the operator. 

The make of Mr. Huish's hive was originally round. It was, however, 
soon discovered that that shape carried with it the disadvantage of having 
the side combs very small ; and, therefore, after much trouble, he succeeded 
in bringing it nearly to the square, by which the side combs are nearly as 
'arge as those in the middle. Fig. 248 represents the hive. 

Of late years, many new plans for bee-hives have been presented to the 
public, some of which are great improvements on the old modes of construc- 
tion and management. Among these may be named Beard's, Colton's, 
Cutting's, Weeks', and Miner's; a still more valuable invention is thai 
one patented by Arza Gilmore, Esq., which is commended by many of 
our most intelligent and skillful apiarists, as one conibining in an emi- 



432 



FARMER S HAND-BOOK. 



oenl degree, all the requisites of a perfect hive, and its introduction is 
becoming more general than that of any other article now in the market. 

Fig. 248. 




The following is a perspective view of a bee-house, or apiary, on Mr. Gil- 
more 's plan. 

Pig. 249. 




The above shows the front, with the openings for the bees — a door at the 
end, leading into the apartment back of the hives, where you can go, and 
e,\amine the boxes, and inspect operations, unmolested. These houses may 



433 



De made plain or ornamental, according to the taste or desires of the propri- 
etors, and of any required size. 

In regard to the Gilmore plan, the first thing necessary will be to pre- 
pare a house or room, say eight or ten feet wide, and of any length you 
wish. In this, the hives and boxes are to be arranged as follows : — 

The hives are made of the usual size, but in three parts, as represented 
by a a a. They are seven and a half inches high, ten wide, and fifteen long. 

Fi"-. 250. 




On the tops ot all of them are slats or gratings made of wood, about an inch 
in width, and about a quarter of an inch apart. They should be apart far 
enough to let the bees pass through easily, but net so far apart as to allow 
tiiem to build oomb that would project through the grating, and connect with 
comb below. TJie pbject is to be able to remove parts of the comb in the 
37 2C 



434 



FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 



hive when it gets old, and by sliding in a new section of hive, give them a 
chance to renew it. In this way, all the comb may be renewed in each hive, 
from time to time. There is much advantage in this, for the bees are not 
only more healthy and active with new, freshly-made comb, but, in process 
of time, the cells, where the larvae are raised, become narrow and filled up 
with bread, and the exuvia of the growing young ; hence, bees bred in such 
places are not so large and strong. This arrangement of hives enables the 
bee-breeder to remove the old, and give the bees a chance to manufacture 
new. These sections of the hive are held together by bits or small cleat» 
of wood, represented by c c c, which are fitted into slots cut in the edge of 
each section, and held in their places by small wood screws. On the top 
of the hive, as at e, is an orifice or hole, which may be closed by a slide, 
and also a similar one on the sides, at d. These are for the purpose of 
allowing the bees to pass from hive to hive, as they are placed in contact 
with each other, and should be four or five inches square. They can thus 
pass through the opening e, in the top, into the hive above, or into the hives 
on either side, through the opening d, in the sides. 

Fi?. 251. 




These sections, when put together, represent the front of the hive. It 
will be perceived that holes, or notches, are cut on each side of the cleats 
c c c, to allow the bees to pass and repass into and out of the hives, as is 
usual in common hives. Any number of hives are placed in contact with 
each other, side by side, and on the top of each other ; and there is a com- 
munication throughout the whole, as above named, through the openings c 
and d. 



REES. 



435 



ITie next cut represents the back-side of the hive, where are seen the 
cleats c c c, and the openings e and d. In addition to these are holes f f, 
eight in number, bored with an inch or an inch-and-a-half bit. They are 
made to allow the bees to pass from the main hives into the boxes, which 




are placed in contact with them, having an opening of the same size, to 
match. These boxes are made of thin, light wood, having a pane of glass 
in front, through which it may be seen whether they are filled with honey 
or not, before taking them away. They are seven and a half inches long, 
and four and three-fourths' inches high. The cut g represents the glass 



Fig. 253. 




front ; // showing the opening on the back-side, corresponding with the 
hole /, in the main hive. These boxes are kept in their places by means 



436 



farmer's hand-bock. 



of a rack, similar to the rack or case in which small drawers are placed 
This is shown in the succeeding cut, and is extensive enough to cover the 
whole of broadside of the hives — s s s s representing slides of wood, tin, or 
zinc, by which the communication between the hives may be cut off when 
desired. 

These are the movable parts of the apiary. We will now proceed to 
arrange them in the house or room in which they are to stand. In order to 

Fig. 254. 




illustrate this arrangement, the interior of the house is seen with the back 
and ends removed, thus exposing the fixtures within. ^ ^ ^ ^ is the floor 
of the house ; B B B B is the front side. In order to let the bees pass out 
and in, small openings or doors are made, either in the form of a long open- 
ing, as in the shaded part represented by c in the upper part, or in the 
square shaded parts, e e e e, below. Long openings are preferable. All 
these openings are furnished with shutters or slides, by which they may be 



BEES. 



437 



completely closed, at will. The best arrangement for this is to have a long 
opening with a groove at the top and bottom of it, so as to return the slides 



Fig. 255. 




37 ♦ 



438 



FARBIER S HAND-BOOK. 



when put in. By these, any part of the opening can be shut, and openings 
left just where you wish, which is often essential in directing the bees to 

Fig. 256. 




\ 



\ 



I 


















05 
























































































































































J 
















































'^ 


- 






^ 










\ 
















\ 








n 










\ 




— @ 








h 












a 






















V _j 






o 














\ 


\ 


— - 





BEES. 



439 



Buch part of the hives as you wish. Two wide shelves, c c c c, are then 
placed in the house, the fronts resting against the side of the house, and the 
ends attached to posts or scantlings, which hold them firnaly in their place. 
Below the lower shelf, at D, is a closet sufficiently large to hold a common 
bee-hive. This has a door, to shut tight and keep it dark, and a small 
opening in the front. The use will be explained below. The dotted lines 
on the shelves represent the spaces covered by the hives, when in place ; 
represent slots or openings through the shelf, corresponding with the 
openings in the top of the lower tier of hives, allowing the bees to pass 
through into the upper tier. 

We will now place the hives, and the rack or case to hold the boxes, in 
their places, which will be represented in the last architectural figure, where 
A A A A show the floor of the house, B B B B the front side, h h h the tops 
of the upper tier of hives, o o o the ends of the slide regulating the passage 
from hive to hive. After they are all placed, the boxes are darkened by being 
covered with a curtain or shutter. These tiers of hives are represented as 
not extending the whole length of the house, but stopping two or three feet 
short of the right-hand end. At this end, the hives are perforated with 
holes, and a rack or case put up, which contains glass tumblers, lying on 
their sides, with their mouths applied to the holes in the hives.. The bees 
enter these, and fill them with honey ; a partition is put up at the end of 
the shelves to keep the bees from entering the other part of the house, and 
windows, iv w, placed there, so that a spectator can stand and look into the 
gallery in front of the hive, and see the bees pass and repass into and out 
of the house. The hives are placed back a foot, or a foot and a half, from 
the side of the house, which leaves free space for the bees, and enables them 
to attack moths, or other intruders. We will suppose that you have the 
hives and fixtures all arranged, and one swarm of bees at work in tliem ; 

Fig. 257. 




you may then add as many swarms as you can procure, in the folio wmg 
manner : You place the hive containing the swarm that you wish to a^d to 



440 farmer's hand-book. 

the swarms in the apiary, into the closet D, at the bottom of the house — 
shutting the door, making all dark except the small opening in front. In a 
short time, the bees will leave the imprisoned hive, and unite with the 
swarm in the house, and work quietly and peaceably with them. When 
boxes are taken from the cases, they will contain a few bees. Place them 
in the dark closet D, and they will soon leave, and unite with the other 
bees in their work. 

The preceding cut represents a portion of the comb, or hexagonal cells 
of the bee, and also a cell for the production of the queen-bee, cut open, to 
show the difference of its form and size. 

IV. OBTAINING STOCK. 

Spring Stock. — A stock of bees may be procured either in the spring or 
autumn. The former period is, perhaps, to be preferred, because it is the 
fitting time for the removal of stocks from the old-fashioned, awkward hives. 
to the more improved modern receptacles ; but it is more difficult to ascer- 
tain the exact condition of the stock which may be purchased in spring than 
m autumn. If, during the months of May or June, a purchase is to be 
made, the garden, or other locality, in which the hive intended to be pur- 
chased stands, should be visited about mid-day ; stand opposite to it, and 
observe attentively the actions of its inhabitants. If they crowd busily in 
and out of the hive, giving evidence of their industry by the laden appear- 
ance of their legs, and altogether showing a busy earnestness in their toils, 
the hive may safely be bought, and if obtained before swarming has taken 
place, so much the better. 

Autumn Stock. — If the object be to obtain an autumnal hive, it is well 
to ascertain, by observing the stand and the ground around the hive, that 
the massacre of the drones luis taken place. Observe the actions of the bees 
— see that they are lively and industrious: and if, on your too near ap- 
proach, one or two bees dash at the face, it may be regarded as a sign of 
vigor. Some writers speak of the necessity of purchasing only such stocks 
as are in nice new hives. This is necessary to be attended to, but is not so 
important if the interior of the hive be filled only with honey-comb, and 
with no old, worn-out comb, the accumulation of years. If there is reason 
for doubt on the subject, fumigate the hive in the evening ; then, turning 
up the hive, the character of its contents may readily be ascertained. If 
the comb be black, have nothing to do with the stock ; the genuine color 
of the comb is white, and, consequently, the lighter it is, the better the 
stock. 

To Secure Good Hives. — Unless the party can be depended on, it is best 
never to send the hive to receive a swarm ; otherwise a second swarm may be 



BEES. 441 

furnished instead of a first swarm — a comparatively valueless stock for just 
the very thing desired. The first swarm begins the formation of the combs 
dt the middle of the apex of the hive ; the second does so at the side. 

The person who intends to erect an apiary should purchase a proper 
number of hives at the latter end of the year, when they are cheapest. The 
hives should be full of combs, and well stored with bees. The purchaser 
should examine the combs, in order to know the age of the hives. The 
combs of that season are while ; those of a former year are of a darkish-yel- 
low ; and when the combs are blacky the hives should be rejected, because 
old hives are most liable to vermin and other accidents. If the number of 
hives wanted have not been purchased in the autumn, it will be necessary 
to remedy this neglect after the severity of the cold is past in the spring. 
At this season, bees which are in good condition will get into the fields 
early in the morning, return loaded, enter boldly, and do not come out of 
the hive in bad weather, for when they do, this indicates that they are in 
great want of provisions. They are on the alert on the least disturbance, 
and by the loudness of their humming we judge of their strength. They 
preserve their hives free from all filth, and are ready to defend them to the 
utmost. 

The summer is an improper time for buying bees, because the heat of the 
weather softens the wax, rendering the comb liable to break, if they are not 
very well secured. The honey, too, being then thinner than at any other 
time, is more apt to run out at the cells, which is attended with a double 
disadvantage, viz., the loss of the honey, and the daubing of the bees, 
whereby many of them may be destroyed. A first and strong swarm may, 
indeed, be purchased, but unless it is permitted to stand in the same garden 
until the autumn, it should be carried away in the night, after it has been 
hived. 

V. SWARMING. 

Time of Swarming. — Bees multiply, during the breeding season, with 
astonishing rapidity ; it is, therefore, not to be wondered at that the young 
brood should speedily produce crowding in the hive, thus becoming not only 
inconvenienced for room, but more than agreeably warm ; it is also sup- 
posed that the queen becomes alarmed at the number and progress to matu- 
rity of the royal larvae, which, indeed, she would fain kill, were not she 
prevented from doing so by the workers. While swarming is by no meana 
to be forced, yet, if symptoms of a swarm present themselves early, say in 
April or May, it may be permitted to take place, provided the parent stock 
be still sufficiently strong in numbers ; otherwise, it is, of course, highly dis- 
advantageous to the well-being of the hive, as well as to the emigrants. 

Indications of Swarming. — The most certain indications of swarming are, 



442 



FARMER S HAND-BOOK. 



the hive appearing full of bees — clusters of them gathering on the outside, 
and sometimes hanging from the alighting-board ; they also neglect thci; 

Fig. 258. 




daily toil, and refrain from going abroad in search of sweets, even though 
the weather be very fine. Just before they take flight, the hive is hushed, 
the bees are silent, and carefully loading themselves with provender for their 
journey. For two or three nights prior to swarming, a peculiar humming 
noise may be heard within the hive ; the second swarm is announced by a 
different sort of buzzing, being, according to some writers, the result of a 
contest as to which of the two queens shall lead off from the hive. The old 
queen leads off the first swarm. 

To Prevent Swarming. — If a swarm be about to quit the hive, the slight- 
est change of weather will prevent their doing so, but nothing so effectually 
as a shower of rain ; hence, an excellent mode of preventing it, when the 
bees cluster on the outside of the hive, is by syringing them with water from 
a common metallic syringe. When a swarm leaves the hive, if it do not 



BEES. 443 

settle and there is fear of its going to too great a distance, throw up 
dust. Secure the swarm, at once for bees send scouts to select a new 
place. 

To Secure a Swarm that has Settled. — When the swarm settles, the 
bees collect themselves in a heap around the queen, hanging to each 
other by means of their feet. When thus suspended from a tree (Fig. 
258) hold an empty hive under them, and tap the branch. They 
should then be sprinkled with honey and ale, aud confined for about 
twelve hours. When a swarm divides and settles separately, it is pro- 
bable there are two queens. One of them must be secured. If a second 
swarm comes oi?, as soon as it is hived, secure the queen, and return 
the swarm to the hive ; deprived of its queen, it Avill usually immedi- 
ately return of its own accord. Many persons suppose that the greater 
the number of swarms the richer will be the hives in August. The 
very reverse of this, however, is the case. 

Electricity. — A famous German apiarist has successfully used electri- 
city to enable him to manage bees when swarming. An electric shock 
it was found would temporarily stupefy the bees. Both large and small 
clusters were found to be completely under the influence of the shock. 
Even single insects could be operated on. The moment the bees touched 
the operating wires they dropped motionless to the earth. You could 
then handle and sort them as you pleased, and they remained stunned 
for a time proportionate to the strength of the shock. All, however, 
came out of their swoon quite well. To fully test the question, the 
operator determined to experiment on a large scale. With this end in 
view he placed the ends of two conducting wires in a honey-comb 
filled with bees, and turned on the current ; in a few seconds all the 
bees succumbed, and it was all of a half hour before their vitality re- 
turned. Then they resumed work as though nothing had happened. 

Effects of Swarming. — Mr. Briggs, a distinguished apiarist, remarks 
that most persons who keep their bees on the old straw-hive plan, and 
suffocating system, appear to anticipate their swarming with much anx- 
iety, and think that the greater number of swarms, — firsts, seconds, 
thirds, &c., — that they obtain from their old hives during the summer, 
the more remunerative will they prove to their owner at the end of the 
season ; whereas the reverse of the above practice is much nearer of 
being the best system to follow. June is the principal month for 
swarming, in ordinary seasons ; and it is in June and July that the 
greatest quantity of honey is stored up hj the bees. When the swarm- 
ing is assisted and encouraged during June and July, the old stock are 
considerably weakened, and the swarms arc employed in building combs 
in new hives, collecting pollen, and attending to the young brood, until 
the best part of the honey-storing season is over ; so that, at the honey 



444 farmer's hand-book. 

harvest in autumn, it will frequently require the contents of five or six old 
stocks, or late swarms, to produce as much honey as might have been ob- 
tained from one colony on the system of management which is recom- 
mended, t 

To A void Swar/ning, in the Case of Collateral Boxes. — In collateral boxes, 
and in capped hives, swarming may be prevented by affording the bees 
additional accommodations, and reducing the temperature ; and for this end, 
It is recommended, by most apiarists, that the hive or box should be fur- 
nished with a thermometer, as well as a ventilator. Those, however, who do 
not possess these accommodations, may manage well enough, by proper 
observation and attention to the symptoms which have been detailed. When 
these appear in a collateral box-hive, open one of the partitions, and admit 
the bees into a new apartment ; if all be full, take off a box, empty and 
restore it. In the case of a capped hive, remove the bungr, and admit the 
bees to the cap ; if full, remove, empty, and restore it. The most favorable 
degrees of heat for the prosperity of the brood are from 75° to 90° in the 
stock-hive, and from 65° to 75° in the side boxes. The heat, in a prosper- 
ous hive, is sometimes upwards of 70° in December, and will, in hot sum- 
mer weather, sometimes rise to near 120°, at which time the combs are in 
great danger of being damaged, and of falling to the floor of the hive ; this 
may, however, be prevented, by giving extra room when required, and by 
shading the hives from extreme heat, as previously directed. And again, 
it should always be borne in mind that all operations with bees should be 
performed as carefully and speedily as circumstances will perm.it, so that the 
bees will scarcely know that their habitation has been meddled with. After 
hiving a new swarm, if unfavorable weather follow their departure, feed 
them, otherwise they will be starved ; indeed, it would be well if each new 
swarm were always fed for a few days, as this will assist them in gaining 
strength in numbers and in store, before the principal part of the honey 
season goes over. The weight of a good swarm should be from five to 
seven pounds, and all under five pounds in weight should be united to others. 
In hiving a swarm, it is well to be protected with a proper bee-dress. Some 
persons are particularly unhappy in possessing those qualities which render 
them disagreeable to bees. The main objections are, excessive timidity, 
and likewise, with some, an unpleasant odor, in some instances the result 
of personal negligence, but frequently of peculiarity of constitution. The 
remedies are, a bee-dress for the former, and the use of some strong perfume 
which the bees like, and which will effectually conceal whatever is offensive 
to them. 

Some writers on bee management have suggested other modes to prevent 
objectionable swarming, besides the collateral boxes and the capped hive. 



BEES. 445 

Among these plans may be mentioned storifying or piling, and eking. The 
latter is speedily disposed of; it consists of adding ekes, or additional banda 
of straw, to the bottom of the common hive, according as additional room is 
required. The objection is, that, although it may thus answer the purpose 
during one season, the next involves as much perplexity as ever. 

Adaptedness of i,\e Different Hives. — The objections urged against the 
etorified hive are, first, that it occasions the bees greater trouble and labor, 
rendering their labor less productive; second, the absence of provision for 
dividing the ordinary cells from the more peculiar and mysterious operations 
of the queen, and of course a consequent deterioration of the honey in respect 
to purity, besides much inconvenience and waste of time to the poor bees, 
— for a laden bee cannot mount up from one box to another, and through a 
labyrinth of comb, with anything like comfort and ease ; thirdly, in taking 
a box of honey, the proprietor cannot be certain of not taking away a 
quantity of brood-comb, &c., — though this objection may be classed with that 
which rests on the impurity of the honey, with this additional one — that 
this also refers to loss of life which the bees, both brood and adult, must 
thus sustain ; and fourthly, in consequence of these objectionable circum- 
stances, which are the inevitable consequences of the piling system, the 
profit accruing from such management will be far inferior to that obtainable 
by the system already recommended. 

It is said that in piled boxes bees are subjected to unnecessary labor, 
which is so far a waste of time. From piled boxes not nearly the quantity 
of honey and wax is procured that may be procured from collateral boxes ; 
nor is that deficient quantity of a quality at all comparable with the other. 
In managing piled boxes many bees are destroyed. 

VI. THE HONEY HARVEST. 

Time and Mode. — Those who possess collateral boxes may begin taking 
a box or a bell-glass very early in the season, — indeed, even so early as May 
or June ; this must be, of course, dependent on the state of affairs, and on 
their own discretion. Those who keep their bees in the capped hive may 
also get a cap full of honey in or about the middle of June. The real honey 
harvest, however, is that which should take place in the beginning or middle 
of August. With reference to the collateral hives, no instructions need be 
added to those given when describing Mr. Nutt's boxes. 

The old mode of obtaining honey was, as is well known, by sufl^ocating the 
inmates of the hive. " Fumigation " is a word employed by bee-keepers 
to express the process in which, by the aid of certain intoxicating smoke, 
the insects become temporarily stupefied ; in which state they are perfectly 
harmless, and may be deprived of their honey without any risk or trouble. 
38 



446 farmer's hand-book. 

They subsequently recover from their stupefaction, and are nothing the 
worse for it. The dried fuzz-ball, and the frog-cheese, are much used for 
the purpose ; but, in their absence, rags steeped in a solution of saltpetre, 
or a few tobacco-leaves wrapped in brown paper, will do nearly as well. 
If tobacco be used, care is necessary, lest the fumigation be carried to too 
great an extent, so as to cause the death of some or all of the stock. Per- 
sons not accustomed to deal with bees should wear an over-all of thin gauze 
over the head and breast, and gloves on their hands. With this, and a little 
bottle of aqua ammoniac, or aqua potassae, to be used in case of accident, they 
can go to work with coolness and deliberation. 

There should be provided, for the purpose of fumigation, a small tin box, 
with a tube exiending from each of two opposite ends ; one end of this tube 
being so fashioned that it can readily be inserted into the hive, and tho other so 

Fig. 269, 




formed that it can readily be attached to the tube of an ordinary bellows. 
The box should be so formed that it can be opened at pleasure. In this box 
the matter to be employed in fumigation is first placed, having, of course, 
been previously ignited ; and the proper end of the tube having been inserted 
into the hive at the lower part, ply the bellows gently. The bees begin at 
once to feel the effects of the smoke. At first an unusual humming and 
commotion will be heard, but in less than ten minutes all will be still. 
The bees will fall upon the board under the hive, and lie quite still, as if 
dead. The hive may then be removed, and a fresh hive — the interior well 
smeared with honey — may be placed over them, or they may be united to 
another stock, which should also be previously fumigated, one queen being 
removed. Some persons may conceive it to be a difficult matter to come at 
the queen. When fumigation is resorted to, she is, of course, easily dis- 
covered ; but even when it is dispensed with, and the practice adopted which 
will presently be described, she is not so very difficult to come at ; for, on a 
hive being turned up and tapped, the queen is among the first, if not, indeed, 
the very first, who makes her appearance. The queen usually lodges near 
the crown of the hive, and is, when fumigation is resorted to, one of the 
last to fall ; she will, therefore, in this case, be found amongst the upper- 
most bees. In practising fumigation, two persons should act in concert, 
each taking a hive and operating upon it, in order that both stocks should 



BEES. 447 

be simultaneously in a similar condition as to intoxicaiion. The hive nmst 
also be well covered with a cloth, to prevent the escape of the smoke. When 
the two stocks have been united in the manner described, it is advisable to 
confine the insects to their hive for that night and the following day. Do 
not, however, wholly deprive them of air in doing so, or they may be smoth- 
ered. On the evening of the following day, about dusk, uncover the hive, 
and open the entrance. The bees will probably at first tumultuously issue 
forth, but, finding the lateness of the hour, will as hastily return. It is 
necessary to be cautious at this time. 

The most suitable period of the year for uniting weak with strong stocks 
is from the middle of August to the latter part of September. This, how- 
ever, is not a proper time to remove stocks from straw hives to boxes, for 
the season is too far advanced. When taken from their warm hive, and 
removed into a cold box, bees rarely recover from the effects of the fumiga- 
tion sufficiently to resume business. May or June is the best time for this 
removal, or perhaps still earlier, — say the beginning of April, — before the 
eggs of the queen-bees have attained the stage of larvaj. If the operation 
be performed in cold weather, it is recommended that it be done in a room 
where the temperature is about 60^. Twelve hours, or thereabouts, suffice 
for the recovery of the bees, and they may then be removed with safety to 
their ordinary stand. 

To prepare the fuzz-balls, put the ball into a piece of stout paper, and 
compress it as tightly as you can ; tie it up closely in this condition, and put 
it in a moderately-cool oven, — about as cool as that from which bread has 
just been withdrawn ; — let it remain there until it will serve as tinder. 
The quantity of the prepared fungus necessary for the fumigation of a hive 
is a piece about the size of a hen's egg, — less 7nay, in some instances, 
answer, but it is better to have too much than too little. Prior to union, 

— even where fumigation has been employed, — the sprinkling with ale and 
liquid honey should not, on any account, be omitted. 

The system which dispenses altogether with fumigation, called tapping 
or driving, is spoken of favorably by some writers. It is as follows : — 
When daylight has died away, and twilight appears, the bees will all be 
quietly reposing, unsuspectingly, in the hive ; — let whoever is in the habit 
of tending tlie bees be the agent in the process ; — no assistance is necessary ; 

— let him or her take an old chair from which the bottom is out, — a worn 
one is best, as it best fits the reversed hive, — turn up the hive on the chair, 
and place over it an empty one, which has been smeared interiorly with 
honey, or sugar dissolved in beer ; wrap a cloth around the point of junction, 
for the first few minutes, and with a stick tap the reversed hive round the 
sides, beginning near the bottom, and gradually ascending in your strokes. 



448 FARMER S HAND-BOOK. 

towards the top ; let the strokes be not too rough, lest the combs be 
loosened. 

Ere this operation has proceeded very far, a humming noise will be 
heard, and presently the disturbed bees, more than half asleep, will mount 
into the upper hive. If the ascent of the bees appears checked, before all 
have left the lower hive, remove the cloth, — which, by the way, is no 
longer necessary, when once the ascent has commenced, — and raise the 
upper half an inch or so above the lower. This will be found to facilitate 
the emigration, and will be unattended with danger. The lower hive 
being fully deserted, place tliat containing the bees on the stand. Some 
like to close the aperture for a time, but this is useless. 

First Harvest. — The most secure mode of procedure, and the most 
approved, is to unite the exiled bees with those of another hive. Remem- 
ber always to leave the bees a sufficient store of honey as food. This is 
usually done by setting apart what is called a stock-hive, — a hive well 
filled with honey, and capable of containing and supporting more bees. 
Turn up this stock-hive, and sprinkle its drowsy inmates, or rather drench 
them, with sugar or honey, dissolved in beer. Do the same with the 
exiles ; and once again invert the abode of the latter over the mouth of the 
inverted stock-hive. Proceed in other respects as before ; and, by tapping, 
drive them down. The two families rapidly recover from their surprise, 
and the agreeable employment afforded to all their individual members, 
of licking the results of the sprinkling from each other's bodies, will 
soon produce friendliness, and meanwhile the liquid with which you 
have saturated them will prevent their distinguishing betwixt stranger 
and comrade. Of course, precaution was taken previously to remove 
the queen of the swarm to be united to the stock-hive. This is the first 
harvest. 

Second Harvest. — By adopting the following approved system of manage- 
ment, a second harvest may be obtained, before placing the bees in their 
winter quarters. This latter operation is termed shifting. 

From the middle of August to the end of September is the usual time 
when we perceive the food of bees beginning to fail them. This is the 
period for removing them to the "heather," which is then in bloom. 
Before moving, ascertain the condition of the hives ; for those which are 
well stocked with honey should be deprived by the process already detailed, 
and this should be done some days prior to removal, for the combs con- 
taining the young may have been loosened in the operation, and the 
bees should be allowed time to fasten them once again securely in their 
places. 

Water carriage, when procurable, is the best, as it shakes the hives 



BEES. 449 

least; but when land carriage must be resorted to, the hives should be car- 
ried on poles, slung on men's shoulders. The journey should be pursued 
at night only, and the bees suffered to go forth and feed during the day. 
Such is their instinct, that they will readily find their way back ; but they 
should not be suffered to go forth until at the distance of upwards of ten or 
twelve miles from their original home, otherwise they will be lost in 
endeavoring to regain it, — a moderate distance induces them to abandon 
the idea, and to become reconciled to their new quarters. If traveling by 
canal, the hives should be removed from the boat, and placed on stands, at 
some distance from the bank, ere the insects are let out, otherwise they will 
be lost in thousands by falling into the water on their return. 

Examining and Weighing. — About the middle of September, examine 
your hives; at all events, do not, whatever be the aspect of the season, 
neglect this necessary operation until October ; but if the season appear 
likely to turn out to be a severe one, set about it even earlier than the time 
named. Understand, however, that the bees cannot be deprived of any 
honey so late as this. 

In glass or observatory hives, and such as are formed on the collateral- 
box or piled-box principle, there are usually such contrivances as will 
admit of inspection of the hive and its contents without handling it. In the 
ordinary hive, however, we cannot avoid manually ascertaining the weight 
and condition of the stock. In order to do so, a previous acquaintance with 
the weight of the hive, and of the probable number of bees which it con- 
tains, is necessary ; and it would be as well to have the stands so contrived 
as to admit of their being raised with the hive for the purpose of weighing, 
as, if the latter be forcibly separated from the former, the cement of propolis 
gets broken, — the substance which unites the hive to its position on the 
stand, — and annoys and troubles the bees. 

A hive should contain twenty pounds of honey for its support during 
winter ; but it is a mistake to suppose that an increase of number in the 
hive, produced by union, will require an increase of food. In fact, 
precisely the contrary is the case ; and the more abundant the stock 
of the bees in autumn, the richer and the better able to work will they be in 
spring, — the more forward, therefore, will they be in summer, and the 
greater will be the profit. The weight of honey, above named, is, of 
course, exclusive of both hive and bees. In one pound — sixteen ounces — 
there are about five thousand bees ; from fifteen to twenty thousand bees 
constitute a strong hive, — that is, from four to five pounds in weight. If, 
after making these calculations and deductions, the stocks are found under 
weight, either supply them with- food, or unite two or ni^rs together. 

Age will cause hives to weigh heavier than their legitimate contents 
38* 2d 



450 farmer's hand-book. 

would call for. This is occasioned by an accumulation o( bee-bread, and the 
cast sloughs which had formerly served as envelopes to the young. In the 
case of old hives, therefore, allow from two to five pounds, according to 
age, for these matters. The substances referred to should be occasionally 
removed from the hive, as otherwise they will accumulate to such an exent 
as to render the hive too small for breeding, and the stock will thus soon 
become extinct. Spring is the proper season for removing these substances ; 
— the process is very simple, consisting merely in fumigating the hives, and 
thus rendering the bees for the time insensible ; then, while they are in this 
state, turning up the hive and cutting out a portion of the old comb, — only 
cut away half at a time. The following spring, perform the same opera- 
tion ; — the gap made by the knife the previous year will be found com- 
pletely restored, and the remaining portion of old comb may now be 
removed. By this system of constantly inducing a renovation of the combs, 
the stock may be preserved in a state of perpetual youth. 

Duration of Hives. — The hive, even if made of straw, will last for an 
indefinite length of time, if protected externally by a thick coat of white- 
wash, or, which is better, Roman cement. Some object entirely to paint 
being used for this purpose. The cutting of the combs may also be 
resorted to in cases where the hives are infested with moths ; under such 
circumstances, all the combs that contain the larvae of those insects may be 
cut away. 

Food for Bees. — With regard to food for bees, honey, when it is on 
hand and can be spared, is, of course, the best ; but, if you cannot give 
honey, substitute for it ale and sugar, boiled gently together in a clean, 
well-tinned vessel, over a clear fire, for about five minutes. One pound 
and a half of sugar may be added to each quart of ale, and the mixture is to 
be skimmed, according as the scum rises to the surface, during boiling ; 
when the syrup is taken from the fire, add to it about a tea-spoonful of com- 
mon table-salt for each quart of syrup. 

It is bad to be compelled to feed the bees in winter, as, by descending to 
the bottom of the hive in order to get at the food, they expose themselves to 
cold, and many perish; by early examination in autumn, and uniting weak 
hives, together with judicious feeding at that season, if necessary, the win- 
ter management will be simplified. Some persons defer feeding until the 
bees are absolutely in want. This is wrong ; the assistance should be 
rendered several weeks before the hive is in a state of positive destitution, 
otherwise, when the food is given them, the bees will be too weak to par- 
take of it. The best mode of feeding is, to put the honey, or syrup, as the 
case may be, into a shallow box ; lay over the sweet liquid a sheet of 
strong paper, perforated with holes, through which the bees can suck the 



BEES. 45 i 

S3rrup without falling into the nness, or becoming clogged by it. Attach the 
box to the mouth af the hive ; the bees will soon make it out, enter, and 
remove the store to their cells. It is bad to lift up the hive for the purpose 
of feeding, as, by so doing, the temperature of the interior is lowered, and 
the stock often destroyed. When the feeder is attached to the entrance of 
the hive, all this is obviated. 

I VII. MANAGEMENT DURING WINTER AND EARLY SPRING. 

' Autumn and Winter Care. — One of the most important particulars con- 
nected with bee management is taking care that they are abundantly suppliexl 
with food in autumn, and also taking care at that season to ascertain whether 
or not they are sufficiently strong in numbers, and, if not, unite the weak stocks, 
BO as to form strong ones. It is by such treatment as this that bees are pre- 
ser^'ed in health and strength during the winter, and in a condition to attend, 
properly to their brood in the early spring. 

Feeding. — In a large straw hive, there should be left, at the autumnal 
honey harvest, from twenty to twenty-five, or even, according to the size of 
the hive, thirty pounds weight of honey, exclusive of the weight of hive, 
Btand, and bees. If, from any accident, the hive should be found deficient 
in weight, you must make up the deficiency by artificial feeding, either with 
honey, or with the mixture of beer and sugar, as has already been described. 
It is not, however, very strong evidence of the apiarian skill of any one who 
is compelled to feed his bees in the autumn ; and, indeed, few should be 
obliged to do so, but those who use too small a hive, and whose swarms are 
consequently too weak, too feeble in point of number, to acquire sufficient 
wealth during the proper season for so doing, or from whom there has been 
injudiciously taken too much store, at a period too late in the season to admit 
of the bees replenishing the hive. 

Narrowing the Entrance, and Covering. — Having ascertained that the 
stocks are supplied with sufficient quantity of food for their support during 
the winter, or that they are already possessed of enough, the next thing is 
to narrow the entrance of the hive so that it will scarcely admit of the 
passage of more than one bee at a time : and towards the middle of Novem- 
ber the entrance should be closed nearly altogether. The hives should be 
covered up with matting, fern, or other similar substance, in order to prf^-serv^e 
them from rain, frost, or, the most dangerous of all, the sun"s rays of a fine 
winter's day. These deceptive rays would afford a temptation to the bees 
to sally forth, and the result would be that they would become chilled by the 
cold. Few would survive the flight so as to return to the hive ; its tempera- 
ture would fall, and the whole stock would be lost. The hives should 
remain thus carefully covered and closed until the beginning of March. 



452 fakmer's hand-book. 

A. coating- of Roman cement, as previously mentioned, will protect the hives 
from cold in winter, heat in summer, from moths, and from wet. When 
there is snow on the ground, the entrances of the hives should be entirely 
closed. 

Dampness, and Ventilation. — To preserve from internal dampness, during 
winter, carefully ventilate, placing a bell-glass, well covered with flannel, 
over the aperture on the top of the hive or box, removing it from time to time, 
and carefully wiping away from its interior the damp formed by condensed 
vapor. 

Materials for Covering. — The materials with which hives are covered and 
surrounded should consist of dry leaves pressed closely together, or dry and 
powdered charcoal or cinders, and may be several feet in thickness, to pre- 
serve the bees in a cool and torpid state, and at a regular temperature, in 
which slate they should be kept as dry, dark, and quiet, as circumstances 
will permit. 

Spring Care. — As the sitring approaches, the winter covering should be 
gradually removed, and those hives which have been buried placed in their 
summer situations. Small quantities of food should then be supplied, as 
occasion requires, until the gooseberry and currant-bushes are in bloom, at 
which time it may, in general, be considered that their winter is past. 
Warm weather, accompanied with moderate showers, is most agreeable to 
them at this period ; and it is considered that flowers yield the greatest 
amount of mellifluous juices when the weather is calm and suitable as above, 
and with the wind blowing from any point of the compass from south tc 
west inclusive. 

Some pursue a mode of preserving bees by interment during winter. It 
consists of laying some very dry powdered earth upon the bottom of an old 
cask, to the depth of about half a foot, pressed down very hard, and setting 
upon this the stool with the hive ; then preserving a communication with 
the air, by cutting a hole in the cask, opposite to the mouth of the hive, and 
placing a piece of Teed from the mouth of the hive to the hole in the cask ; 
then covering the hive up with a quantity of dry earth similar to that on 
which it stands. 

In spring it is only necessary to remove the winter coverings gradually 
and with caution ; to examine also the state of the bees' provisions, and, if 
necessary, feed them. Be cautious in at once giving them liberty, or in 
doing so too early, or in unsettled weather. Many bees lose their lives from 
neglect of these precautions, simple as they are, and obvious as their neces- 
sity must appear to every reflective bee-keeper. It is well, for these reasons, 
that the mouth of the hive should face due west, until all these dangers have 
passed away ; of course, when the working season has arrived, all restraint 



BEES. 453 

must be removed, the aspect of the hive moved southward, and the insects 
left entirely to themselves. When spring feeding is necessary, it is usually 
in April, for then the demands of the young brood call for a greater con- 
sumption of honey than ordinary ; and from want of attention to this circum- 
stance, hives have been lost so late in the season as the month of May. 
Spring, also, say about the beginning of March, is the proper time for 
transferring stocks from hives to boxes, remembering that the latter should 
be previously well cleaned out, their interior smeared, and supplied with a 
portion of honey, in a proper feeder. As the warm weather approaches, 
Bhade the hives from the sun. If the bees be induced by the heat to attempt 
injudicious or ill-timed swarming, and hang in clusters about the entrance 
of the hives, if advisable, it can be checked by sprinkling them with some 
water. They will mistake this for rain, and retire within the hives to 
resume their work. 

VITI. HOW TO TREAT THE PRODUCE OF THE HONEY HARVEST. 

Removing. — In the first place, remove the store to some room without 
fireplace, for the bees have been known to make use of even that mode ot 
access in order to come at the honey, which they are able to scent from a 
considerable distance. Close all the doors and windows, previously having 
in the room whatever implements are wanted — viz., some large glazed 
earthen vessels, clean, new, horse-hair sieves, a strainer, some clean linen 
cloths, and abundance of water to wash in. Some recommend burning cow- 
dung, or rotten hay, at the doors and windows of the room in which the 
work is being done, in order to keep away the bees. 

The Combs. — The first care should be to examine the combs, and free 
them from all dirt, grubs, young bees, or other foreign matters, remembering, 
of course, to have previously well and thoroughly washed hands. Then cut 
the combs horizo'ntally into pieces of an inch wide, and lay them on the 
sieve over the glazed earthen vessels ; when they have dropped all the 
honey that they will yield without squeezing, put them in the cloth already 
mentioned, and wring it over another vessel ; this will furnish the second- 
class honey — that spontaneously yielded is called virgin honey, and is equal 
in purity to that obtained from the bell-glass. When all is obtained that can 
be by squeezing through the cloth or bag, carefully cover up the two sorts, 
put the comb, also well covered, into a vessel by itself, and remove all the 
other cloths, vessels, and other utensils, to the apiary, that the bees may lick 
them clean. 

Obtaining and Preparing the Wax. — The next object is to obtain the 
wax. For this purpose, put the combs into a clean vessel, and add as much 
soft water as they will float in — distilled water would be best, but rain 



454 farmer's hand-book. 

will answer nearly as well. Place the vessel on a clear and not too hot fire, 
and watch it, stirring occasionally, until the combs be completely liquefied. 
Then strain this throuoh a fine canvas bag, into a tub of cold water. The 
water first flows through, and then the bag requires pressure to make it yield 
the wax. A simple press recommended is, to have ready a piece of 
smoith board of such a length that, when one end of it is placed in the tub 
of cold water, the other end may be conveniently rested against, and securely 
stayed, by your breast. Upon this inclined plane lay the dripping, reeking 
strainer, and keep it from slipping into the cold water by bringing its upper 
part over the top of the board, so as to be held firmly between it and your 
breast. If the strainer be made with a broad hem round its top, a piece of 
strong tape or cord passed through such hem will draw it close, and should 
be long enough to form a stirrup for the foot, by which an additional power 
will be gained of keeping the scalding hot strainer in its proper place on the 
board ; then, by compressing the bag, or rather its contents, with any con- 
venient roller, the wax will ooze through, and run down the board into the 
cold water, on the surface of which it will set in thin flakes. When this 
part of the operation is finished, collect the wax, put it into a clean saucepan, 
in which is a little water, to keep the wax from being burned to the bottom ; 
melt it carefully, for should it be neglected, and suffered to boil over, serious 
mischief might ensue, liquid wax being of a very inflammable nature ; let it 
be melted over a slow fire, and skim off the dross as it rises to the top ; then 
pour it into such moulds or shapes as may be desired, having first well 
rinsed them, in order that you may be able to get the wax, when cold and 
solid, out of them, without breaking either the moulds or the wax ; place 
them, covered over with cloths, or with pieces of board, where the wax will 
cool slowly, because the more slowly it cools, the more solid will it be, and 
free from flaws and cracks. The wax may be bleached by re-melting it, and 
running it several times into very thin cakes, suffered to cool, and exposed 
to the influence of the air and sun. This will render it white. The honey 
may also be clarified by placing the vessel containing it in hot water, and 
continuing to skim as long as any scum arises. In order to preserve it, it 
should be stored in jars, well bladdered and otherwise secured, and kept dry. 

IX. THE DISEASES AND ENEMIES OF BEES. 
Diseases. — When properly attended to, and managed on the improved 
system, bees are neither very subject to disease nor very liable to suffer 
from the attacks of enemies. The diseases to which they are subject are 
diarrhea and dysentery. The latter is probably only produced by neglect 
of the former ; at all events, we may regard the two affections as springing 
from the one cause. 



B££S. 455 

Columella speaks of diarrhcea as a purging which seizes bees annually, in 
Uie spring ; and conceives it to be occasioned by the bees surfeiting them- 
selves on the young flowers in their first repast, and recommends giving 
them rosemary and honey diluted with water. According to others, this 
looseness is occasioned by the bees feeding on what is called " candied 
honey," which is thought to be formed by being too long in the hive, too 
stale, and hence sour and unfit for use. To prevent this, examine period- 
ically the hives or boxes, and remove, on each occasion, a portion of the old 
or mouldy combs. The presence of candied honey in a hive is so obnoxious 
to bees that it frequently induces them to desert it. 

The candied honey proves fatal to bees in another way beside their being 
poisoned by it. When the bees find candied honey in the combs, they, 
knowing its prejudicial qualities, if they have other and wholesome store, 
throw it out of the combs, and it, of course, falls on the bottom-board of the 
hive. They can then neither enter nor leave the hive without bedaubing 
themselves, and their endeavors to free themselves and their companions 
from the incumbrance only make matters worse. When bees are found 
in this state, it is difficult to relieve them; but if anything will do so, it is 
immersion in tepid water ; for this purpose they can be swept into a tub 
with the wing of a fowl, leave them in the water until insensible, and unite 
them, when they revive a little, to the bees of another hive, taking care to 
serve these latter similarly. Some attribute purging and dysentery to the 
bees feeding on too pure honey, which is said not to he sufficiently substan- 
tial for them by itself; and the cure recommended is to give them, from 
another hive, combs well supplied with bee-bread or crude wax. 

Enemies. — The enemies of bees are far more numerous than their dis- 
eases, including, as they do, poultry, mice, lizards, toads, frogs, snails, 
slugs, caterpillars, moths, millipedes, wood-lice, ants, lice, spiders, wasps, 
"hornets. Fowls should not be permitted in any apiary. They will kill and 
eat the bees; and such as they do not destroy, they will annoy and disturb. 
Mice do not dare attack the hive while the bees are vigorous ; but as the 
cold approaches, and the bees become less active, the mouse enters, and, 
commencing with the lower combs, ascends by degrees as the bees become 
torpid, until he either clears all away, or, by the smell of the honey he has 
wasted on the board, induces other bees to come and plunder. As soon as 
the warm weather returns, the surviving bees will also leave the hive in 
disgust. The remedy is easy. By having the straw hives, — if such are 
used, — coated exteriorly with Roman cement, the mice will be prevented 
from nestling in the straw, whence otherwise they would speedily eat their 
way into the interior ; and, by narrowing the entrance of the hive in the 
manner already described, the little intruders will be effectually kept out. 
If the stands be placed on a single foot, or if the feet are so placed under 



456 farmer's hand-book. 

the foot-board as to leave a wide, projecting ledge, no mice can arrive at 
the hive. Toads will kill bees occasionally, but not in great numbers ; and 
the same remarks are applicable to Frogs. Snails and Slugs are not abso- 
lutely enemies of bees, as they have no design upon them or their honey in 
entering the hive, but merely do so from accident. The mischief dmie by 
them consists in the alarm and confusion they occasion. The bees first 
attack the unfortunate intruder, and kill him with their stings ; after which, 
they carefully encase him in propolis, effectually preventing putrefaction or 
the production of maggots. Caterpillars — especially the wax-moths, so 
called from the ravages they make amongst the combs as soon as they 
obtain entrance — are very injurious. By having the legs of the stand 
placed as has been described, no caterpillar can climb up to the hive; but 
this will not prevent the 7noth herself entering and depositing eggs in the 
hive ; and so prolific are these moths, that a single brood would suffice to 
destroy a whole stock. Periodical fumigation, and cutting away such 
combs as contain the grubs, are the remedies to be adopted. Moths are 
only nocturnal enemies ; during the day there is nothing to fear from their 
attacks. Let the entrance to the hive, therefore, be nearly closed in the 
evening, and the bees will be protected from their ravages. Some recom- 
mend, as a trap for moths, a bottle, or other vessel, with a long and narrow 
neck increasing gradually to a wide mouth, and having a light in the neck, 
to be placed under the hive in the evening. This will destroy numbers. 
Another particular to be attended to is to have the stocks sufficiently strong , 
and for this purpose, if the hive attacked be weak, unite to it the bees of 
another hive, in the manner already described. The bees are themselves, 
if sufficiently strong in numbers, both willing and able to destroy the 
intruders. If weak, they will necessarily fall victims. Millipedes, or Wood' 
lice, are often produced by the stand being made of decayed wood, or the 
hive being placed too near an old hedge. Let the stand be of new wood, 
and strew soot on the ground under and about the hive. This will also 
serve in part as a protection against the attacks of Ants. All such ants' 
nests as are found in the neighborhood of a hive should be destroyed. Lice 
are small parasitica] insects, of a red color, which adhere to the body of the 
bee, and derive their nourishment from her juices. They are about t)ie 
size of a grain of mustard-seed, or rather smaller ; Morocco tobacco will 
kill the lice, without injuring the bees. Spiders may be gotten rid of by 
brushing away their webs wherever met with near the stand. Wasps and 
Hornets are most noxious to bees. Dig up and destroy their nests wherever 
they may be met with. Among the Birds most inimical to bees, may ba 
mentioned sparrows and swallows. Set traps near the hives, baited with 
dead bees, and hang up a few of such birds as you kill on trees near the 
stand. 



SILK-WOKMS AND WULBKRRY TKEES. 457 



SILK-WORMS AND MULBERRY TREES 

Are so inseparably connected, that one cannot be treated of without 
inviting a consideration of the other ; and for this reason it has been 
deemed advisable to combine their description, as well as instructions 
regarding their culture, in one article, in preference to speaking of them 
separately. Up to the present time, the propagation of the silk-worm 
has been almost exclusively confined to the sea-board Atlantic States ; 
and, strangely enough, the region of New England, with a comparatively 
rigorous climate, has been the largest as well as the most profitable pro- 
ducer of domestic silk. Many obstacles have hitherto retarded the silk 
culture in the United States, prominent among which has been the slow 
growth of the diflFerent species of mulberry tree, upon the leaves of 
which silk-worms feed. The introduction of the moms muUicaulis pro- 
mised to remove this obstacle; but the plant was made the subject of a 
wild speculation, which eventually ruined thousands of citizens, and 
retarded the silk culture to an incalculable extent. Many of the South- 
ern and Western, as well as all of the Southwestern States, possess pecu- 
liar natural advantages fijr the culture of the silk-worm ; and, with pro- 
per attention, this branch might, in a few years, become a profitable one 
in the hands of the agricultural community. Any farmer who has a 
family of children, or dependants, able and willing to pick mulberry 
leaves and take care of the worms, may safely embark in this under- 
taking, as the outlay will be but trifling — being comprised in the pur- 
chase of a few hundred silk-worm eggs, and an ounce of mulberry seed, 
or a quantity of plants. 

Many persons are led to infer, from a perusal of very elaborate articles 
on the subject, that the business of silk culture is a very intricate and 
difiBcult one. Like every other new pursuit, it presents sume obstacles 
*o the uninitiated : but these once surmounted, it becomes as simple and 
easy as is the raising of cattle or poultry. During the brief existence 
which Nature has assigned the worm, all it requires is shelter from cold 
and moisture, together with an adequate supply of the proper descrip- 
tion of feed. These wants satisfied, there can be little danger of failure; 
and, indeed, numbers have been eminently successful who never had any 
other guide than their own experience. The profits are very consider- 
able. One acre of mulberry trees will feed 120,000 worms, from which 
forty pounds of silk can be obtained. Four or five intelligent children 
are capable of attending to this number of worms, and the period of 
labor does not exceed five weeks. 
39 



458 FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 

Description of tJie Silk-Worm, and of the Mode of Propagation. — One 
ounce of eggs will produce about 40,000 worms, which are usually 
hatched out in May, when the mulberry tree begins to put forth its 
leaves. The best eggs are those of a lustrous dark grey color, which 
will sink when immersed in wine. White or yellow eggs are worthless. 
The eggs are kept in a dry, cool situation until the proper time for hatch- 
ing them arrives, when they are spread on tables in an apartment the 
temperature of which is raised to 80° Fahr., and in eight or ten days the 
worms begin to make their appearance. When they issue forth from 
the eggs they are nearly black, and not more than a line in length. They 
immediately seek for nourishment, and, if supplied with mulberry leaves, 
•will attach themselves thereto, when they may be removed to properly- 
constructed frames. They generally live about fifty days, and their 
voracity increases with their age and growth. During their existence, 
they undergo four diflPerent changes, each occupying about twenty-four 
hours, and with each transformation exchanging their old and dark skin 
for one of a lighter shade. These changes are always attended by a 
condition of torpor, and many worms die while passing through them; 
but those which recover immediately eat with as much voracity as before. 
AVhen the worms have successfully passed through all their moultings, 
they are nearly two inches in length, and of a greyish-white color. At 
this time their voracity is truly astonishing; the mulberry leaves disap- 
pear before them with almost incredible rapidity ; and where several 
thousand are feeding in one room, the noise made in eating very much 
resembles that occasioned by the beating of a storm of sleet against 
panes of glass in windows. When worms are ready to spin, their bodies 
present a shining and somewhat transparent appearance, their appetites 
fail, and they eat little, but appear to be anxious, stretching out their 
heads in all directions, as if seeking for something. These being sepa- 
rated from the others, are conveyed to a place prepared with small dry 
branches of oak, etc. on which they ascend ; each one selecting a place 
for itself. The worm commences its work by fastening silken threads 
to the branch on which it is located, and then gradually proceeds to en- 
velop itself in them. When its living tomb is completed, it is about one 
inch or one inch and a half in length, and presents an egg-shaped ap- 
pearance. This work occupies about seven or eight days, during the two 
first of which the little workman is visible; but after that time he dis- 
appears under the continued addition of fine silken threads to the inte- 
rior of the walls of his cell. The worm then passes into the chrysalis 
state, and, if left undisturbed, will, in a few days, emerge from the 
cocoon in the form of a butterfly, which eats its way through the silken 



SILK-WORMS AND MULBERRY TREES. 459 

walls, thus rendering them of but little value. To prevent this, all the 
cocoons not needed for breeding purposes, are, as soon as completed, put 
into an oven, and exposed to a high temperature, by which the chrysales 
are killed. If it is desired to reel the silk immediately, the cocoons are 
immersed in scalding vrater, which not only destroys the chrysales, but 
also softens the gum and frees the threads. The hardiest, brightest, and 
most substantial cocoons are saved for seed, strung on threads by means 
of a long needle, so passed through them as not to injure the occupant, 
and hung up in a moderately warm position. Both male and female 
cocoons are kept — those of the male being long and round, while the 
female cocoons are marked by greater size and rotundity. In fifteen or 
twenty days the butterflies make their appearance, and being placed 
on pasteboard or a woollen cloth, the female soon deposits her eggs. 
One hundred pairs of cocoons, weighing about a pound, will produce one 
ounce of seed. 

Cocoonery. — For a new beginner, any spare room in a dwelling may 
serve the purpose, provided it can be well ventilated in mild, fair wea- 
ther. A frame four feet square may be made by connecting together 
four posts, on which slide-rests are fixed. On alternate rests, place 
frames filled with meshes of catgut or twine, on which the worms may 
be fed, and beneath each network frame place another covered with heavy 
white paper, on which all the filth and excrements passing through the 
meshes may collect, and thence be removed without disturbing the worms. 
The paper frames should be placed sufficiently near to the others to enable 
the worms which fall through to reach the meshes, and crawl up again : 
this they will do in search of the leaves, with which the frames of net- 
work should always be covered. Each day's hatching should be placed 
on separate frames, and, during the first week the worms should be fed 
two or three times a day, but afterwards as fast as the leaves are con- 
sumed or become withered. The frames should be cleaned every two or 
three days, or even more frequently ; and in hot weather the apartment 
sliould be kept airy and cool. In wet or damp weather, however, the 
windows must be closed, and in no case must the sun be allowed to shine 
on the worms. Never surfeit the worms, nor supply them with leaves 
covered with moisture. 

Spinning and Heeling the Silk. — 3Iany machines have been invented 
for this purpose, which reel and twist the silk directly from the cocoons 
and also manufacture it into sewing-silk. Silk is sometimes reeled while 
tlie gluten which connects together the threads is still moist, when, by 
uniting the filaments togethei as they are drawn from the cocoons, a 
more firm support and strong thread is produced. The machine best 



460 FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 

adapted to the purpose is the Piedmontese reel, which is so simple 
as to be within the comprehension and capacity of any ordinary indivi- 
dual. 

Casualties. — Silk-worms are subject to many casualties, besides suf- 
fering severely from want of cleanliness, cold apartments, moisture, and 
tempests. Large numbers are every year killed by the operation of some 
or all of these causes ; but more disastrous than any other is the effect 
of thunder — the most beautiful worms, which have passed safely through 
all their moulting seasons, being frequently killed by the operation of 
electricity. Red ants are great enemies of the silk-worm, as also spiders, 
mice, and rats. 

BoMBYX Cynthia, a new variety o-f silk-worm recently introduced into 
Europe from the East Indies, and naturalized in Malta, will not only eat, 
but thrive upon, the leaves of the Castor-Oil Plant [Palma Chrisii), and 
also on those of lettuce, wild endive, the weeping willow, etc. It has 
also the advantage of reproducing itself several times in the course of a 
year. The cocoon not being entirely closed, the chrysalis may enter the 
butterfly state, and emerge from its cell, without injuring the value of 
the silk; consequently the grower is not forced to sacrifice the grub in 
order to save the cocoon. The aperture in the latter is covered in a 
very novel manner. On the side from which the butterfly issues, the 
cocoon is terminated in the form of a cone, formed by the convergence 
of a crown of stiff, continuous threads, running in such a manner as to 
prolong that part of the cocoon, and render the entrance impassable fi'om 
the outside, while it is easily traversed by the imprisoned grub, which, 
as it is transformed, pushes its way out, by stretching the elastic sides 
of this cone, the apex of which has never been. closed. The stiff threads 
constituting the cone-shaped appendages of the cocoon are glued, doubled, 
and folded on each other in such a manner as to retain their primitive 
integrity after the hatching and flight of the butterfly. If this silk-worm 
were introduced into our Southern and Western States, its propagation 
and cultivation might be pursued with great advantage, for there the 
Palma Christi grows wild in large quantities. 

Gaturnia Ceanotha. — This is another variety of silk-worm, recently 
discovered in California. It is of the same species as the Chinese silk- 
worm, but said to be far superior. Silk of excellent quality has been 
produced from it. 

Mulberry Trees. — Several different varieties of the mulberry are 
advantageously used in feeding the silk-worm; the white [M. alba), (Fig. 
260), which is its proper food, being extensively cultivated for that pur- 
pose ; and the red [M. nibra) growing wild in many parts of the United 



SILK-WORMS AND MULBERRY TREES. 



461 



States. Both these varieties are very hardy and many-leaved, and the 
cocoons of the worms fed on them are extremely large. The most valu- 

Fig. 260. 




able tree, however, is the Chinese {M. multicaulis), (Fig. 261), which has 
been extensively and successfully cultivated in the United States. In 



Fi<r. 261. 




two years a plantation of these trees will be in full bearing from the 
cuttings, and will produce a larger yield of leaves to the acre than the 
39* 



462 FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 

M. alba. It is well adapted to the climate of the United States, and in a 
proper soil and exposure will continue to support life during any ordinary 
winter; but it can only be produced by planting slips from the parent 
stem, as it yields seeds but sparingly, and these will frequently produce 
plants diflering widely from the original. A hybrid variety of the 
mulberry has been raised in France by shaking the pollen of the 
moretta flowers over those of the multicaulis. The hybrid thus ori- 
ginated has large flat leaves, like those of the Chinese seedling, wliich 
are firm, and much relished by worms. Their powers of endurance 
are fully equal to those of the multicauliij, while their precocity, and 
the firm texture of their leaves, admirably adapt them to the silk 
culture. 

Soil. — In order to insure a rapid increase, the soil, more especially 
for the multicaulis, should be a light, sandy loam, in good condition. 
Plants have been known to thrive well in a thoroughly cultivated clny 
soil, but with more or less loss of cuttings, pariicuhirly of single buds. 
Stony ground, unfit for general tillage, will answer equally as well as 
any other. A mulberry grove should, if p()ssible, have a southern slope, 
and it is advantageous to have the shelter of a forest, or of high ground, 
on the north and west. 

Culture. — The seed of the white mulberry may be sowed in drills at a 
convenient distance apart, and about as thickly as those of onions: 
cover with earth to the depth of about half an inch. The best time for 
sowing is during the month of April. Plant beans or potatoes between 
the rows, to keep the ground clear of weeds, and to yield a remunera- 
tion for the labor bestowed. The second year cut the seedlings down 
with a sharp knife to within three or four inches of the ground, and 
they will give another crop of leaves the same season. For planting 
out, the hedge form is the best; setting the young trees eighteen inches 
apart. Cuttings should be taken from the growth of the previous sum- 
mer, and be from six to twelve inches long. They should be planted in 
rows nine inches apart, with eighteen inches between the rows-, soaked 
twenty-four hours before planting ; and well watered in dry weather. 
The slips should be planted in a slanting position, with the buds upper- 
most. The white mulberry has the advantage of being clothed with 
leaves fifteen or twenty days in advance of the earliest of the other 
varieties ; but no leaves should be gathered from the white mulberry 
until after the fourth year, as it will injure the growth and constitution 
of the tree. When required for a hedge, the plants may be set out when 
one or two years old. Cut them down the first year to within four or 
six inches of the ground, only leaving two buds ; and. after another 



SILK-WORMS AND MULBERRY TREES. 463 

year's growth, one of the new sprouts may be laid down in the line of 
the fence, and tied to the next plant ; the others being left to grow 
upright. The buds from the laid sprout will send up shoots, and fill up 
all the intervals. Sprouts springing from the roots should be cut away, 
unless wanted for layers. The plants may be set out about fifteen inches 
apart. The Morus Multicaulis, thus named on account of its tendency 
to throw out many stems from the same root, may be most certainly 
increased by layering the leaves in slight trenches about five or six 
feet apart, and covering them with fine-sifted earth. They should first 
be deprived of part of their side branches, and the ground should have 
suflicient warmth to start the buds immediately, or many will perish. 
Cover the root deeper than the stem ; hand weed, hoe, and plough the 
ground, so as to keep it open, and free from weeds. When the plants 
are about twelve inches high, it will be advantageous to draw the earth 
around the stems. The green branches may be layered without separa- 
ting them from the tree; and, by I'emoving the terminal bud, many small 
plants will be produced. Unripe wood, the growth of the same season, 
may also be used for cuttings, and in good soil, with careful shading and 
proper cultivation, will make thrifty plants. Single bud cuttings more 
frequently fail from irregularity in the seasons than do those of greater 
length, which commonly germinate more than one bud each. The 
multicaalis possesses, more largely than the other varieties, the desira- 
ble property of throwing up numerous small pliant stalks, without 
forming a main stem ; of producing a rapid growth of tender leaves, 
which are speedily renewed ; and of quickly striking root from cuttings 
of the stalks and branches. By heading the stalks down nearly to the 
ground every year, a rich growth is produced ; and it is comparatively 
easy to multiply them ad infinitvm from the roots or cuttings ; yet, 
although so readily increased, they require great care and attention in 
hand-weeding and stirring the earth ; and the farmer who thinks he has 
accomplished everything by merely placing them in the ground, will, in 
the autumn, discover that his trees have suffered so much for want of 
attention, as to seriously retard their growth. By transplanting the 
trees, and setting them out in rows ten feet distant from tree to tree, 
with proper care and culture, five times the amount may be raised from 
an acre. 

If it is desirable to conduct the business on an extensive scale, a choice 
may be made between three modes of planting the Morus Multicaulis, 
viz. : that of standards, in fields on which farm crops are raised ; of 
half-standards, in grounds devoted to that purpose ; and of dwarf hedge- 
plants, for field divisions, etc. For standards, the trees may be planted 



464 FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 

at such distance apart as may be determined upon, never allowing it to 
be less than ten or fifteen feet ; but half-standards will only require a 
separation of from three to seven feet. Before planting in the latter 
mode, the ground should be well trench-ploughed, the soil finely pulve- 
rized, and thoroughly manured, when the sets may be put in the rows in 
quincunx form ; that is, each tree opposite the space between two of the 
next row. A space of four feet being left between each row, there will, 
of course, be some vacant ground, which may be profitably cropped with 
potatoes or beans, the tillage of which will greatly facilitate the growth 
of the trees. Half-standards may be taken from the nursery at two years 
old, and, if very thrifty, at one year ; they will require no pruning, 
except where limbs trail toward the ground, and should always be trans- 
planted in the spring of the year. Hedge-planting may be conducted in 
the same way as previously indicated for the white mulberry. 



CHAPTER X. 

FLOWERS, ORNAMENTAL AND USEFUL TREES, ETC. 

THE CULTURE OF FLOVrERS — PLANS FOR FLOWER-GARDENS — DESCRIPTION OV 
STANDARD VARIETIES OF FLOWERS — ORNAMENTAL SHRUBS-^ORNAMENTAL 
AND USEFUL TREES — MONTHLY FLORICULTURAL CALENDAR. 

I. FLOWERS. 

General Remarks. — The pre-requisites of flower-beds and composts are, 
depth, friability, and necessary richness. The practice of trenching the 
sites of flower-beds to the depth of three feet is found to be of great service ; 
not that any of the fibrous roots can reach so low, but because the bed 
should be quickly drained after much rain, and that in dry weather the roots 
may be invited to run as deep as they have a tendency to go. There is 
another reason for deep trenching, which is, no doubt, as beneficial to 
flowers as it is to all other plants, viz., they receive a greater share of that 
genial moist warmth which is at all times rising from the interior of the 
earth to its surface. This is a circumstance not enough attended to, and by 
many practitioners is quite unheeded ; it is, nevertheless, a great assistant to 
vegetation. According as we descend, the temperature increases. In the 
winter and spring months it is by several degrees warmer at the depth of a 
few feet than at or near the surface. The ground being opened to that 
depth, therefore, permits the ascent of this warm steam in cold weather, 
and allows it to rise like a refreshing vapor, when the weather is hot and 
dry ; in both seasons of much advantage to the ro"ots. 

Friability. — That flowers may have every encouragement from the con- 
stitutional texture of the compost they are placed on, it is prepared by being 
compounded, aerated, and screened, till it is free from stones, clods, &c., 



Fig. 262. 




and all of a uniform consistence. It should not be liable to knead in work- 
ing, nor run together under heavy rain. By the addition of sand, lotten 

2e (465) 



466 farmer's hand-book. 

dung, or leaf-mould, it must be sufficiently porous to receive, and as readilj 
discharge, any excess of water, as well as allow the penetration of every 
quality from the air which is beneficial to plants. A garden syringe, like 
the following, will be found very convenient in applying water to flower- 
plants. 

Fig. 263. 




Enriching. — The high fertility of the soil intended for flowers is one of 
the principal provisions to be made for their prosperity. In the compost 
every ingredient should be present that experience has discovered to be 
useful, and every quality added which successful practice sanctions, or 
what rational ingenuity may suggest. The luxuriance of the plants depends 
on the suitableness and temperament of the compost ; and the richness of 
the tints depends on the qualities contained in it. 

Coverings, dfc. — For the defence of fine bed-flowers from inclement 
weather, and to preserve them in beauty as long as possible, the florist who 
wishes to excel in the art, and derive the utmost satisfaction from the pur- 
suit, should provide himself with every necessary appendage for the purpose. 
The means of temporary protection against rain, hail, or snow, and awnings 
for the preservation of the full-blown flowers, are both necessary. 

Stages, as well as beds, require these appurtenances. Few lovers of 
flowers, who take delight in their cultivation, can grudge the expense of 
proper means for both shade and shelter. Commercial florists have arrange- 
ments for these purposes on an extensive scale, embracing all the advantages 
of convenience and utility ; the amateur, or flower-fancier, adopts as many 
of these conveniences as are sufficient for his more limited designs. 

For all bed-flowers, particularly hyacinths and tulips, the beds should be 
surrounded by boarding from one to three feet high, to give, for ease of 
examination, the necessary elevation to the flowers. Staples driven in at 
the corners and along the sides of this boarding serve to admit wooden or 
iron hoops, which, connected along the centre and at the eaves with slight 
laths, form a sufficiently firm and eflfective frame to bear any covering of 
mats or canvas. 

Carnation stages are either single or double, — that is, having one or both 
sides composed of graduated shelves. In the one case, a walk in front is 
sufficient ; in the other, the walk is carried all around. Those for auriculas 
are similar, both being raised on feet, each of which stands in pans of water, 
to prevent the visits of creeping insects. 

When the foliage of the plants has advanced so far as to be in jeopardy 
from frost, &c., the hoops are placed, and the coverings got ready to be 



FLOWERS, OKNAMENTAL TREES, ETC. 461 

employed as the weather directs. Tulips are, much more than others 
liable to be injured, especially during the months of February, March, and 
April. They are then most easily damaged by the operations of the 
weather, or by water resting near, and afterwards freezing around the bud ; 
and, though every care should be bestowed to protect the plants from such 
casualties, yet they must not be deprived of the full air too long a time, as 
this would injure by enfeebling them. So much is over-covering to be 
guarded against, that some intelligent cultivators use only small-meshed 
nets as a defence, which are considered sufficient. 

When the flowers begin to show color, preparations must be made to 
erect the awning. This is intended to shade them from a severe sun, and 
shelter them from tempest winds. The frame should be as light in its con- 
struction as is consistent with its stability against windy weather. It is 
either a permanent erection of slender columns, eaves-plate, rafters, and 
ridge-board, or a temporary framing of similar scantlings, screw-bolted 
together for the purpose. The latter are preferred by private growers. No 
directions need be given for a permanent structure, that any common carpenter 
can supply and execute. But for those who only need a temporary thing of 
the kind, the following description of a very suitable and convenient one may 
be useful : The bed is surrounded by a fine gravel or sand walk, two and a 
half feet wide ; on the outside of the walk, oaken trunks, sixteen in:3h°s Icn.v: , 
naving central openings two inclies square, are sunk and firmly rammed in 
the ground, their tops level therewith. These trunks have each a capped 
stopper, to be put in when the frame is taken away ; ihey remaining always 
in their places, and serve as sockets to receive light columns six feet high, 
turned out of three-inch-square stuff, having a two-inch-square tenon to fit 
into the trunk, and also a smaller tenon at top, to pass through the eaves- 
plate, and also receive the foot of the rafter which rests upon it. The 
rafters meet on a ridge-board, to which they are fastened by a screw-bolt and 
nut. Besides the corner columns, intermediate ones are added^ according as 
the length of the bed requires. The canvas for the roof is in one piece, 
fixed by its middle to the ridge-board, the two sides being movable on rollers 
or otherwise, and rolled up or let down a1 pleasure. The ends and sides 
are closed by curtains, and hung on headed studs driven into the end-rafters 
and eaves-plate, by eyelet-holes worked in the upper leech of the curtains; 
at the bottom they are fastened down by tender-hooks or ties. Such a 
franie and awning, if care be taken to lay it up dry in a spare room, will 
last for many years, and, when in use, may be made, by ornaments fixed at 
the ends of the ridge and at the tops of the columns, not at all an unsightly 
object, even in the flower-garden. 

Plan of a Flower-garden. — Supposing the soil to have been in all 



468 



FARMER S HAND-BOOK. 



respects duly prepared, dug over and leveled, the next thing is to determine 
upon the plan for the garden. It should certainly be a regular geometric 
figure, and planted in masses, each bed containing flowers of one kind, so as 
to produce something of the fine effect of a Turkey carpet when looked down 
upon. 

We will suppose the plan (Fig. 264) to consist of twelve flower-beds on 
grass, with a gravel-walk around, which may be bordered on one side by 

Fig. 264. 




beds of flowers, with little gravel openings, or be plain gravel, as may be 

Fig. 265. 




FLOWERS, ORNAMENTAL TREES, ETC. 469 

preferred. The walks should be smoothed and hardened by means of a 
garden roller. There may be a conservatory into which the parlor-room 
windows facing the south may open, and on the other side there should be 
a shrubbery to unite it with the lawn. In the centre of the flower-garden 
there may be a fountain. As the flower-garden is to be seen principally from 
the dwelling-house windows, the nearest beds should be planted with dwarf- 
flowers, so that those in the back beds may be seen ; the shrubbery behind 
to consist of laurustinus and arbutus, so as to afford a handsome green back- 
ground to the flowers in summer, and yet afford a few flowers themselves in 
winter and spring, when flowers are scarce in the beds. When the walks 
are bordered with grass, an implement like the following, fitted to a straight 
handle, is used for paring the edges. 

Fig. 266. 




Planting. — Get a few pots of Californian and other annuals usually 
raised in pots, and plant them, putting three potfuls in each bed. In No. 1, 

Fig. 267. 




put Phlox Drummondi, the flowers of which are crimson of various shades, 
and let the stems be pegged down, so as to spread over the bed. No. 2 
may be Lasthenia Californica, the flowers of which are yellow, and the 
stems generally procumbent ; but they may be pegged down to keep them 
in their proper places, that is, to spread completely and regularly over the 
bed. No. 3 should be Nemophila insignis, the flowers of which are of a 
beautiful blue, and which will not require pegging down. No. 4 may be 
Erysimum Petrowskiknum, the flowers of which are of a bright orange ; but 
the stems must be pegged down, or they will grow tall and straggling. 
No. 5 may be Nolkna atriplicifolia, the flowers of which are blue, and 
40 



4^0 farmer's hand-book. 

resemble those of a convolvulus ; this is a procumbent plant, and will not 
need pegging. No. 6 may be Nemophila atomaria, which has white 
flowers, and is a dwarf plant. No. 7 may be Leptosiphon densiflorus. a 
dwarf plant, with pale purple flowers. No. 8 may be Gilia bicolor, a 
dwarf plant, with nearly white flowers. No. 9 may be Gilia tricolor, a 
dwarf plant, the flowers of which are white and very dark purple. No. 11 
may be Leptosiphon androsaceus, a dwarf plant, with pale lilac flowers. 
And No. 12, Schizopetalon Walkeri, the flowers of which are white, and 
the stems must be pegged down. These are all annuals, which, if properly 
treated by pegging down, and not planted too close, will produce a mass of 
flowers in each bed only just above the surface of the ground, and will have 
a charming effect from the windows. Most of them like a poor, clayey soil 
best, and they will only require turning out of the pots, without breaking the 
ball, into the places prepared for them. If it is thought there are too many 
white beds, substitute Sanvitolia procumbens, the flowers of which are yel- 
low, for No. 8, — but the seeds must have been sown the previous autumn to 
bring it forward, as otherwise it will not flower till late in the summer ; and 
Bartonia aurea, the flowers of which are of a golden yellow, may be planted 
instead of No. 12. Cladanthus arabicus, formerly called Anthemis arabica, 
which has yellow flowers, may be planted in No. 8, if Sanvitolia cannot be 
obtained. Florists, however, can generally furnish these sorts. 

Autumnal Flowers. — As most of the annuals will begin to look shabby in 
July or the early part of August, we give the following list of half-hardy 
plants for autumn: No. 1, Verbena Melindres, bright scarlet; No. 2, Eno- 
thera Drummondi, yellow ; No. 3, Lobelia bicolor, blue ; No. 4, Calceolaria 
rugosa, pegged down ; No. 5, Verbena Tweediana, crimson ; No. 6, common 
White Petunia; No. 7, Verbena Arraniana, or Henderson's purple; No. 
8, Calceolaria integrifolia, yellow ; No. 9, Purple Petunia ; No. 10, Verbena 
teucrioides, white ; No. 11, Frogmore Pelargonium, bright scarlet; No. 12, 
Musk plant, yellow. 

In October the following bulbs and other plants may be put in for flowering 
in early spring. No. 1, Van Thon tulips ; No. 2, Cloth of gold, or common 
yellow crocuses ; No. 3, Blue hepatica ; No. 4, Yellow crocuses, or White 
Anemone ; No. 5, Scilla verna and sibirica, blue ; No. 6, Arabis albida, 
white ; No. 7, Double pink hepatica ; No. 8, Winter aconite ; No. 9, Purple 
crocuses ; No. 10, Snowdrops ; No. 11, Primroses ; No. 12, White hepatica, 
or Arabis alpina. 

Laying out the Flower-garden. — If the above plan for a garden does not 
meet the fancy, one can be drawn of any figure desired. In the first place, 
the ground must be dug over, raked, and made peifectly smooth. The 
pattern, if a complicated one, should then be drawn on paper, covered with 



FLOWERS, ORNAMENTAL TREES, ETC. 



4Y1 



regular squares, and the ground to be laid out must be covered with similar 
squares, but larger, the usual proportion being that a square inch on tne 
paper represents a square foot on the ground. The squares on the ground 
aie usually formed by sticking in wooden pegs at regular distances, and 
fastening strings from peg to peg, till the whole ground is covered with a 
kind of lattice-work of string. Each string is then chalked, and made to 
thrill by pulling it up sharply and letting it go again, which transfers the 
chalk from the string to the ground. When the ground is thus marked with 
white squares, it is easy to trace upon it, with a sharp-pointed stick, any 
pattern which may have been drawn on the paper ; the portion in each 
equare on the ground being copied on a larger scale from that on the paper. 
Simple patterns, like that of the following figure, consisting of straight 
lines, need only to be measured, and pieces of string stretched from pegs put 




in at the proper distances, so as to form straight lines, oblongs, squares, tri- 
angles, or diamonds. If a circle is to be traced, it is done by getting a piece 
of string half the length of the diameter of the circle, with a piece of stick 
tied to each end. One stick is then driven into the ground in the centre of 
the circle, and a line is traced with the stick at the other extremity of the 
string, which is drawn out quite tight. An oval is made by tracing two 
circles, the circumscribing line of one of which just touches the centre of the 
other ; short lines are afterwards made at the top and bottom, and the 
central lines are obliterated. A square only requires a peg at each corner, 
witn a chalked string drawn from peg to peg ; and an oblong, or parallel- 
ogram, is made by joining two common squares, and taking off the corners, 
if required. A heart-shaped pattern is made by drawing a straight line from 



412 



FARMER S HAND-BOOK. 



o to (Fig. 268), and then fixing a peg with a string tied to it half the 
length of the straight line, and another peg at the end, exactly in the middle 



Fig. 269. 




of the line, and drawing half a circle with it ; then taking a peg with a string 
half the length of the other, and another peg to the end, and tracing with it 
the smaller half circles, c and d. With the same strings and pegs you may 
easily trace, or have traced, the following figures. Even the latter, which 



Fig. 270. 



Fig. 271. 




appears at first sight a very difficult figure to form on the ground, will be 
just as easily traced as the others. It will be observed that in all these 
figures the straight line is only to serve as a guide to show the proper places 
for fixing the pegs ; and that it is only to be formed by a piece of string 
stretched by pegs from one end of the figure to the other, which is to be 
removed as soon as the figure is sketched, and which is not to be traced on 
(Jie ground at all. 

With the aid of these figures, and the pegs and strings, several very 
complicated gardens may be formed ; for instance, that shown in the fol- 
lowing outline. This garden is composed of a bed in the centre for a tree- 
rose, with a circle of dwarf-roses ; a gravel-walk surrounds these; and there 
are five heart-shaped beds, which may be planted with scarlet pelargo- 
niums, yellow calceolarias, petunias white and purple, and tall yellow 
mimulus ; and the crescent-shapea oeds wnich are on grass may all be 
planted with different kinds of verbenas. This plan is also a good 
design for a rosery, — the roses to be planted in the beds, and in the 



FLOWERS, ORNAMENTAL TREES, ETC. 



473 



half-crescents, which must be on grass, with gravel-walks between the 
grass-plots. 

All the beds intended for bulbs and half-hardy plants should be particu- 
larly well drained ; and the best way of doing this is to dig out the soil to 
the depth of two feet or more, and then put in a layer of brick-bats and other 
rubbish, to the depth of nine inches or a foot. On thi^ may be placed a 




layer of rich, marly soil, in which the bulbs are to be planted. Dahlias, 
hollyhocks, and other tall-growing, showy-flowered plants, should have 
similar beds prepared for them ; but the soil should be made very rich by 
the addition of the remains of an old hot-bed, or some other kind of half- 
rotten animal manure. 

Arrangement of Colors. — In the directions which have now been given 
for planning and planting the beds, it has been intended merely to say what 
may be done, and not what is absolutely necessary. Indeed, it will be better 
for each cultivator to vary the flowers as much as possible, according to taste, 
provided care is taken that the plants are, as nearly as possible, of the same 
height, or that they rise gradually, and that the colors contrast well. The 
rule in the latter case is, always to put one of the primitive colors — red, blue, 
and yellow — next another of these colors, or some color compounded of the 
other two, using white wherever you cannot find any handsome plants of a 
color that will suit the bed for which they are wanted. Thus, for example, 
40* 



4'! 4 farmer's hand-book. 

if one bed be planted with red, the next may be planted with blue, yellow, 
green, hair-brown, or white, but never with any shade of purple, as red 
enters into the composition of that color ; nor with any shade of reddish- 
brown ; purple, indeed, must always be next to yellow, hair-brown or 
white, but never next blue, red-brown, or red. Orange will not look well 
near yellow or red, and lilac must not approach blue or pink. A little 
practice will generally do more than any lengthened details. Generally 
speaking, you may take the same taste to guide the arrangement of the 
colors of the flowers in the parterre that is used in choosing the colors of 
female dress. 

Fragrant Flowers. — When it is settled what to plant in the beds of the 
garden, — supposing the plan of Fig. 264 to be chosen, — the next thing to 
be thought of is the beds around it. These should, on the whole, remain 
unplanted, unless they are sown with mignonette, or something of that 
kind. The shrubberies should consist chiefly of the finer kinds of hardy 
evergreens, — at least, that which is opposite the windows of the house ; — 
the other shrubbery may be planted with rhododendrons, acacias, and kal- 
mias, — the rhododendrons being furthest from the walk, and carried a little 
out into tbe adjoining grounds, so as to make a broken line, projecting in 
some places and receding in others, and here and there mixed with bushes 
of phillyrea, alaternus, holly of various kinds, and cralcegus. With regard 
to the beds near the house, let there be a lonicera flexuosa trained over each 
window, on account of its delightful fragrance in summer. For a similar 
reason, have chimonanthus fragrans against the walls between the win- 
dows, and mignonettes and violets in the beds. The flowers of the ever- 
green magnolia, and those of the orange, have a slightly oppressive 
fragrance, as have those of the heliotrope and the tuberose; but those 
of the mignonette, the lemon-scented verbena, the rose, the violet, and 
lonicera flexuosa, are refreshing, at the same time yielding delicious 
perfume. 

Cultivating Bulbs. — In giving some hints on the cultivation of flowers, 
we begin with the bulbs, as they flower first in the spring. The crocuses 
and snow-drops should be planted, five or six together, as close as possible, 
so as to form little tufts; and these, when once planted, should never be 
removed, unless they should grow out of bounds, so as to spoil the shape 
of the l)ed. The tulips, on the contrary, should be taken up as soon as 
heir leaves begin to decay, and kept in a dry place till the proper time for 
planting them next year. 

There are three kinds of plants which are said to have bulbous roots, — 
those which are solid, and which should be properly called corms, — such 
as the Ciocus, the corn-flag, and many of the half-hardy plants with similar 



FLOWERS, ORNAMENTAL TREES, ETC. 475 

half-tubular flowers ; the tunicated bulbs, which may be peeled off in scales, 
such as the onion, the hyacinth, and the tulip ; and the scaly bulbs, such as 
the lily. Now, the real roots of all these plants are the long fil)r(^s sent 
down by the lower part of the bulb, which may be seen plainly in hyacinths 
grown in glasses, and in any of the kinds, if taken up while in a growing 
state ; and what is called the bulb is, in all the corms, only a contracted 
stem ; but, in the tunicated and scaly bulbs, the bulbous part is formed of 
a contracted stem and metamorphosed leaves. On examining a hyacinth, 
there will be found at the base of the bulb a flat, fleshy substance, called 
the root-plate, and this is, in fact, the contracted stem of the plant ; while 
the tunics or scales are metamorphosed leaves. It will be useful to remem- 
ber these distinctions in cultivating the garden, as all plants having corms 
never flower well till they have been allowed to form a mass, which they 
will not do till they have been in the ground three or four years. Many 
persons fancy that the Cape bulbs require to be taken up every year, but 
this is a mistake ; all the kinds of gladiolus, ixia, tritonia, and other similar 
plants, will live in the open ground, and flower well, if suffered to grow in 
masses, and be warmly covered in winter. Some persons practise success- 
fully the plan of manuring the beds of tulips and hyacinths every year, so 
that they may be grown together in the same beds without taking up, for 
several years in succession. 

Reserve Garden Spot. — It is well, in order to keep the flower-garden in 
a proper state, to have what may be called a reserved plot of ground, in 
which the plants are to be brought forward, till they are in a proper state 
for transplanting into the proper flower-garden. This reserve garden is 
generally placed near the stable, both to have it out of sight and for the 
convenience of manure, as it must contain hot-beds and frames, for rearing 
tender annuals, striking cuttings, and, in short, for performing all those 
gardening operations which require to be carried on out of sight. In this 
spot the Californian annuals are to be brought forward. 

Choose a piece of hard ground, — a walk will do, — or any place that 
has been much trodden on, and cover it about an inch thick with light, rich 
soil. In this the seeds of the annuals should be sown in September, and 
suffered to remain till the bulbs have faded, and the annuals are wanted to 
cover the beds, which will probably be about April. The annuals must 
then be taken up with the spade, in patches, and being removed to the 
flower-garden, they mu.st be laid carefully on the beds, so as to cover them 
exactly; — the spaces between the patches being filled with soil, and 
pressed gently down, so that the surface of the beds may be as even as pos- 
Bible. These annuals will come into blossom in May, but they are killed by 
the dry heat of summer ; and, though they would sow themselves if per- 



476 farmer's hand-book. 

mitted to seed, it is better to remove them as soon as they have done flower- 
ing. The worst of permitting plants to sow themselves is, that early in 
autumn the tlower-beds will have a very untidy appearance, as the ground 
not only becomes rough, but it is covered with dead stalks and leaves, 
which have always a most desolate appearance ; and these cannot be removed 
till the seed has fallen, wliile the beds must not be forked over and raked, for 
fear of destroying the seedlings. It is, therefore, much belter, as soon as 
the annuals have done flowering, to take them up and throw them away, — 
a supply of seed being preserved by having left some plants in the reserve- 
ground for that purpose. A second or spring sowing of the Californian 
annuals may be made in the reserve-ground, for use, if needed, in the 
autumn. 

Culture of Annuals. — Annuals are plants that live only one year, or, 
rather, only a few months, for they are generally sown early in spring, and 
die as soon as they have ripened their seeds, at the latter end of summer, or 
the beginning of autumn. Tliese plants are of three kinds, — hardy, half- 
hardy, and tender. 

The hardy annuals are sown in March, April, or May, but the second 
month is to be preferred, if the weather is tolerably open. The ground in 
which they are to be sown is then forked over and raked, and a little round, 
firm place is made by pressing the bottom of the saucer of a flower-pot on 
the ground, and then scattering a few seeds on the firm place, taking great 
care that the seeds do not lie one upon another. The seeds are then firmed, 
as the gardeners call it, by pressing the saucer again on them, and some 
earth is strewed lightly over to finish the operation. Instead of the saucer 
of a flower-pot, regular gardeners perform that part of the process with 
their spades. The idea is, to securely fix every seed in the ground before 
it begins to germinate, in order to produce a strong and healthy plant. 
After the seeds are sown, it is customary to put a piece of stick into the 
ground, with the name of the seeds written upon it, to mark the place ; or, 
if preferred, write the name on a card, or a bit of pasteboard, and stick it 
in a notch or cleft made in the stick. 

When the seeds have come up, — which, in the spring, is generally from 
a fortnight to six weeks after sowing, according to their natures, — the 
seedlings may be thinned out, and the supernumerary plants either trans- 
planted or thrown away. If the seedlings are to be transplanted, care 
should be taken not to break or injure the roots, and a little hole should be 
made with a stick for each seedling in the place to which it is to be 
removed ; the earth being pressed close to the root at the bottom of the hole 
before the rest of the hole is filled in, as, if any hollow place is left around 
the root, it will decay, instead of growing. Seedling hardy annuals are, 



FLOWERS, ORNAMENTAL TREES, ETC. 47 T 

however^ very seldom worth the trouble of transplanting. Many persons 
turn a flower-pot over every patch of seeds, from the idea that it will make 
them come up sooner, and protect them from birds. It is, however, a bad 
plan, as air and light are particularly necessary to seedling plants, and, 
when they are even partially deprived of these important agents, they 
become drawn up, with weak, slender stems, and thin, discolored leaves. 

Some annuals, such as the mignonette and the larkspur, are much 
longer before they vegetate than others, and they are better sown in autumn. 
Others, such as the Erysimum Perovvskianum, the eschscholtzia, and the 
coreopsis, will often last two or three years, especially if they happen to be 
late in flowering the first season. These also do best sown in autumn ; but 
they must be protected, if the winter should be severe, by laying a mat over 
the bed. 

Half-hardy Annuals. — The half-hardy annuals, such as the French and 
African marigolds, the Chinese and German asters, the zinnias, the purple 
jacobaea, the sweet sultan, the purple and yellow everlastings, and other 
similar plants, maybe sown in pots, and plunged into a slight hot-bed in Feb- 
ruary or March. As soon as they come up, and have got their second pair 
of leaves, the earth should be turned out of the pots, and the seedlings, being 
carefully picked out, should be transplanted into other pots, three or five in 
each, according to the size they are expected to attain when full grown, and 
the pots again plunged into the hot-bed. Sometimes they are transplanted a 
second time ; but they are generally left till May, when they are removed to 
the open border, to the places where they are intended to flower. Wher 
they are planted in the border, they may be transplanted in the ordinary 
way, or the ball of earth may be turned entire from the pot into a 
hole made to receive it. This is generally considered the best plan, as it 
prevents the plants from receiving any check by their removal. Bromp- 
ton, ten-week, and German stocks, though quite hardy, make better 
plants when treated like half-hardy aimuals, as they flower earlier and more 
vigorously. 

Tender Annuals. — The tender annuals, such as balsams, cock's combs, 
globe amaranths, &c., must be sown in February or March, in pots of light, 
rich earth, and plunged in a hot-bed. As soon as the plants come up, they 
should be transplanted into pots of the very smallest size, one in each pot : 
and these small pots should be set in the hot-bed again, as near the glass as 
possible, and slightly shaded during sunshine. In a week or two, as soon 
as the roots have made their appearance on the outside of the ball of earth 
within the pot, — which is known by turning the ball of earth, with the plant 
in it, carefully out of the pot, w'ilhout breaking it, — the plants are shifted 
into pots a size larger than what they were in before, and the space filled up 



4Y8 farmer's hand-book. 

widi light, rich soil. In another week or two the piants must be shifted 
again into pots a little larger, always using light, rich mould to fill up the 
pots, and taking care that the pots are well drained, by putting pieces of 
broKen pot at the bottom. As soon as the plants are shifted, the pots must 
be replunged in the hot-bed, and shaded for the remainder of the day. The 
shifting and replunging must be continued till the plants begin to show 
flower-l)uds, after which they must neither be shifted nor plunged in tiie 
hot-bed any more, but gradually hardened, by the frame in which they are 
placed being left open all day, and, at last, only partially closed, even at 
night, till the plants will bear setting out entirely in the open air, unless 
they should be intended to flower in a green-house, in which case they may 
be removed to the green-house very soon after they have shown flower-buds. 

Perennials. — Perennials are those permanent plants which are not 
woody, and yet remain in the ground as long as most kinds of shrubs, pro- 
ducing flowers and seeds every year. Perennials are of two kinds, — those 
that dia down to the ground every autumn, and send up fresh stems from the 
root the following spring, — and those which remain green all the year, as, 
for example, those that have tuberous roots, such as the dahlia. Bulbs are 
also perennials; but of these we have already spoken. 

Most kinds of perennials are propagated by dividing the roots; but, in the 
case of the dahlia, ranunculus, and anemone, care must be taken to choose 
only those portions of the tubers thai have buds or eyes, as they are called, 
as otherwise the tuber, though it will send out fibrous roots, will not pro- 
duce a stem ; and, in dividing fibrous-rooted plants, care must be taken that 
the divided part is furnished with buds. Almost all kinds of perennials 
may also be propagated by cuttings ; and those of pinks and carnations are 
called pipings, because, instead of being cut, they are pulled asunder at a 
joint, and this gives the separated parts a hollow appearance, like small 
pipes. Tubers are frequentlj taken up every autumn, and those of the ra- 
nunculus and anemone are replanted in November or January, the former 
season being rather preferable. The tubers of the dahlia are generally 
taken up in November, and replanted in May or June. 

Most perennials are improved by taking up occasionally, and replanting 
them in another place. This used to be accounted for by supposing that 
plants threw out excrementitious matter, which, after a few years, poisoned 
the soil in which they grew ; but it is now supposed that, as every plant 
requires peculiar earths for its nourishment, they must be removed when 
they have exhausted all the particular kind of earth they want which grows 
within their reach. It is rather difficult to explain this without entering 
into long details ; but it will be sufficient for our present purpose merely to 
state the fact that plants do require their roots to have a constant supply of 



FLOWERS, ORNAMENTAL TREES, ETC. 479 

tresh earth and, to meet this want, nature has provided that the roots of 
trees, and of all plants that are intended to remain several years in the soil, 
elongate themselves every year, so as to be continually able to obtain a fresh 
supply of nourishment. In gardens, however, the constant digging that is 
going on for the culture of annual plants is unfavorable to the elongation of 
the roots of the perennials, and consequently it is absolutely necessary that 
those plants should occasionally be taken up and replanted. The season for 
taking up and replanting perennial plants is either in autumn, after they 
have done growing, or in spring, before they begin to shoot; and, if the 
soil about the roots looks black and wet, or, as the gardeners express it, 
sour, the roots should be washed quite clean before transplanting. When 
the roots of plants are divided, it is either done with a sharp spade or a 
knife, care being taken, in both cases, to make a clean cut, and not leave any 
part bruised or jagged. 

Biennials. — These are plants raised from seeds, which do not flower till 
the second year, but which generally die as soon as they have ripened their 
seeds. Biennials are usually sown in a bed of light, rich earth, in the open 
year in the reserve ground, and then transplanted, in September, to the place 
wliere they are to flower the ensuing year. The finer kinds, such as the 
Brompton stocks and hollyhocks, should have a bed or pit prepared for them, 
of rich, loamy soil, in which they are planted, with a small quantity of 
manure. Wall-flowers, snap-dragons, and Canterbury bells, do not require 
any further care than transplanting to the border ; and, though they are 
called biennials, they will frequently live and flower for a succession of 
years. 

The Hot-bed. — A hot-bed may be made of any material that will ferment, 
so as to produce heat. Stable manure and dead leaves are, however, gener- 
ally preferred to all other materials, and stable manure is unquestionably 
the best. A cart-load of this manure will make a hot-bed sufliciently large 
for rearing tender annuals ; and when it is taken out of the stable, it consists 
partly of the dung of the horse, and partly of what is called long litter, — 
that is, straw moistened and discolored, but not decayed. When in this 
state, if it is thrown together so as to form a heap, a most violent heat is 
produced by the fermentation of the straw while decomposing, and, as this 
heat would be too powerful for any plant exposed to it, it is neces.«ary lo 
let the heap remain for a fortnight or so, turning it over two or three times, 
during that period, with a fork, till the straw is sufficiently decomposed to be 
easily torn to pieces with the dung-fork. When the manure is in this state, 
it is fit tc be used. The hot-bed should be formed in an open situation, on 
a surface raised about six inches from the surroundmg ground, with a gutter 
or shallow ditch cut around it, to allow the water to drain oft". The bed 



480 farmer's hand-book. 

is then made, and, if only intended for raising annuals and striking cuttings, 
it may be five feet long by four feet wide. The manure should be regularly 
spread over the lower part of the bed, and in successive layers, made as 
smooth and level as possible, till the whole of the cart-load of manure has 
been used. 

As soon as the bed is finished the frame should be set on it. The frame 
consists of a box without a bottom, and with a movable top, formed of a 
glazed sash or sashes. A frame for such a bed as has been mentioned will 
only require one sash or light ; and it should be three feet wide and four 
feet long, so that the bed may be half a foot larger than the frame on every 
side. The back of the box may be two feet high, and the front one foot, so 
that the glass may slope from the back to the front. About two days after 
the bed is made, the fermentation will recommence, and a steam will be 
observable on the glass. The surface of the bed should now be covered, two 
or three inches thick, with light garden mould, and any common seeds may 
be sown in this. Tt is more general, however, to sow the seeds in pots, and 
then either to set them on the surface of the bed, or to plunge them into it 
up to the rim. No bed for raising annuals should ever be hotter than 60^ ; 
and when it exceeds this heat, the glasses should be left open so as to cool 
it. The thermometer for ascertaining the heat should be put on the surface 
of the bed, with the glass shut above it ; and it should be examined in this 
situation, as it will fall a degree or two immediately on being taken into the 
open air, if the weather should be very cold. 

A hot-bed oftwo or three lights will require two or three cart-loads of 
manure, and will, of course, produce a great deal of heat, from the immense 
mass of fermenting materials it contains ; and, unless properly regulated, 
the plants will turn black, and the leaves be shriveled up, or, as the 
gardeners term it, burnt, from the too great heat of the bed. There is also 
danger of a hot-bed getting too cold, instead of being too hot ; and, when this 
is the case, the heat should be renewed by the application of dung-linings, 
that is, a quantity of fresh stable manure around the outside of the bed. 
Linings are sometimes made of dead leaves piled up around the outside of 
the bed ; but, if the hot-beds are to be used only for raising seeds, they will 
not want any linings, as it will be advantageous for the young seedlings if 
the beds are allowed gradually to become cool as the plants increase in size, 
80 that they may acquire strength and hardiness before they are turned into 
the open ground. 

Green-house Plants. — A few words on the green-house plants that will 
be wanted for planting in the open groimd in the flower-garden may not ba 
amiss. Petunias may be all raised from seeds with the other half-hardy 
annuals, as seedling plants both grow and flower much more vigorously 



FLOWERS, ORNAMENTAL TREES, ETC. 481 

when planted out into the open ground, than plants that have been raised 
from layers or cuttings. Celsia or Alonsoa urticifolia may also be raised 
from seeds, as may Thunbergia alata, and its white variety. Phlox Drum- 
mondi is almost always raised in this manner, as are the beautiful climbing 
plants, Lophospermum scandens and its varieties, Maurandya Barclayana, 
Cobaea scandens, Eccremocarpus orCalampelis scabra, Rhodochiton volubile, 
tne beautiful canary-bird flower {TrupcEoJuin fcrcgrinum) , the most splendid 
of the ipomaeas, and several other well-known plants. 

Geraniums, or pelargoniums, as they are called, being half-shrubby plants, 
require to be raised by cuttings. These are generally taken off the points 
of the shoots in autumn, and, a good many being put into one pot, they are 
plunged into tlie hot-bed till they have struck root, and then gradually hard- 
ened and placed on the back shelf of a green-house, or in a cold frame, till 
the spring, when they are removed to separate pots till they are wanted for 
planting out. Some gardeners do not put themselves to the trouble of pot- 
ting them, but keep them in the same pots in which the cuttings were struck 
till they are wanted for planting out ; but this is an indifl^erent mode of cul- 
ture, as, when the plants are kept so long in one pot, they become drawn 
up, and do not have the compact, bushy appearance that they have when 
properly transplanted early in spring. Verbenas may be either preserved 
by cuttings or layers, or raised afresh from seed. The usual way of propa- 
gating them, however, is by layers, as they strike root readily at the joints, 
if the joints are covered with a little earth. All the other green-house 
plants which are wanted to grow for planting out may be treated in the 
same manner as those which have been mentioned. 

Cold Frame. — This is a bottomless box of the kind described for a hot- 
bed, but formed of brick or stone, instead of wood. These frames have a 
glass sash at the top, but contain no manure ; and they are generally sunk in 
the soil, that the warmth of the soil around may aid in protecting the planta 
they contain from the frost. These frames, if they have only one light, 
are generally five feet in width, that is, from the back to the front ; but, if 
they have two or three lights, the width is generally seven feet, as these 
are the dimensions of the frames used for hot-beds in kitchen-gardens. The 
green-house plants that are to be preserved in the cold frame are merely set 
in their pots close together, and, the glass sashes being then closed, mats 
and other coverings are laid on to keep out the frost. 

Sometimes green-house plants which are left in the open ground are 
preserved from the frost by coverings of wicker-work, like bee-hives, being 
put over them, or tin hoops over which mats have been stretched ; or, where 
the plants are small, a flower-pot may be turned over them, or a hand-glass 
used foT the same purpose. It is seldom, however, worth while to take 
41 2f 



482 Farmer's hand-book. 

much pains to preserve green-house plants that have flowered in the open 
air. The ordinary way is to make abundance of cuttings in autumn ; to 
strike them in a hot-bed, and then, after hardening them by degrees, to pre- 
serve them in a small green-house, or in a cold pit, till the time for planting 
out next year. 

Winter Management. — Many persons injure green-house plants by keep- 
ing them too warm and giving them too little air during winter, and then 
are surprised that their plants become sickly and remain without flowering, 
notwithstanding all the care and expense that have been bestowed upon 
them. No green-house ought to be kept at a greater heat, during night, 
than from 35° to 40° ; and in the day-time it should not be allowed to rise 
above 50°, or at most 52°. When there happens to be sunshine, the fire 
ought to be lessened ; and whenever the air is not frosty, the windows ought 
to be open from twelve till two every day. If a green-house is kept too 
warm, it will induce premature vegetation, and the plant will waste its 
strength in an attempt to produce flowers and fruit at a season when nature 
requires it to be kept in a state of complete repose. Green-house plants 
should be watered generally every morning ; but in frosty weather water 
need not be given every day, and some plants will not require watering 
oftener than once a week. This, however, must depend in a great measure 
on circumstances ; and, as a general rule, it may be observed that water 
may always be given in small quantities when the surface of the earth con- 
tained in the pot looks dry. The pots should not be allowed to stand in 
saucers, as stagnant water is peculiarly injurious in winter. Whenever the 
earth in the pot looks black and sodden, the plant should be turned out of 
the pot ; and, after the black earth has been carefully shaken from the roots, 
it should be repotted in fresh soil, an inch or more in the bottom of the pot 
being filled in with small pieces of broken china and earthen ware. 

In February or March the plants should be looked over, and repotted 
where necessary ; those that are too tall should be cut in, and cuttings made 
of their shoots. The young plants, raised tVom cuttings made in autumn, 
should be repotted in larger pots for flowering ; and where the plants do not 
require fresh potting, but have the surface of tiieir mould become green and 
mossy, the moss should be taken off, and the ground slightly stirred with a 
flat stick, taking care, however, not to go so deep as to injure the roots. 
When trouble is not an object, all green-house plants are the better for 
repotting every year, either in spring or autumn ; and when the ball is 
taken out of the pot for this purpose, it should be carefully examined, and 
all the decayed parts of the roots should be cut off. Sometimes, when the 
ball of earth is turned out, nearly half of it will fall off almost without touch- 
ing it ; and wjien tjii^ is the case, it will generally be found that there is a 



FLOWERS, ORNAMENTAL TREES, ETC. 483 

worm in the pot. Worms do a great deal of mischief to green-house plants 
in cutting through the roots, as their instinct teaches them to make their 
way through the earth straight across the pot and back again, and they can- 
not do this without tearing the roots asunder every time they pass. 

Another point to be attended to in the management of a green-house is, 
keeping the plants as near as possible to the glass, as, unless this be done, 
the plants will become what gardeners call " drawn up," and unnaturally 
tall and slender, from the efforts they make to reach the light. 

Repotting. — As this process has been frequently mentioned, we here give 
the best mode of performing the operation. ' The pot to which the plant is 
to be removed should always have been previously washed quite clean, and 
be perfectly dry. Some bits of broken earthen pots should then be put at 
the bottom of the pot, the quantity varying from three to four pieces, so as 
just to cover the hole, to a mass an inch in depth, depending upon the nature 
of the plant. If the plant has not been in a pot before, the roots are then 
placed just above the broken bits just mentioned, and the earth is filled in, 
the plant being occasionally shaken, so as to allow the earth to get amongst 
its roots. The soil in the pots is next consolidated, by shaking it, and then 
lifting it up and setting it down again with a jerk ; the soil being rendered 
firm and neat around the rim of the pot by means of a broad, smooth piece 
of stick, shaped somewhat like a table-knife, and called a potting-stick. 
When a plant has been in a pot before, and is repotted, or shifted, as it is 
called, into a pot a size larger, the plant is turned out of its old pot by put- 
ting the hand upon the earth and turning the pot upside down ; or, if the 
ball of earth does not come out readily, striking the rim of the pot against 
the edge of the potting-table or shelf. The ball containing the plant will 
thus drop out into the left hand ; and the bits of earthen ware that adhere 
to the bottom of the ball having been picked oif, and any part of the root 
that appears decayed having been removed, a little mould is put on the 
drainage in the new pot ; and the ball of earth containing the plant having 
been placed in the centre, the space between it and the pot is filled in with 
light, rich mould, and made firm with the potting-stick. The operation is 
concluded by shaking the pot, and then taking hold of the rim with both 
hands, and striking the bottom of the pot two or three times, with a jerk, 
against the potting-bench. The plant is then watered, and set in the shade 
for the remainder of the day. 

Heaths are very difficult plants to manage, but a great improvement has 
taken place in their culture within the last few years. They are grown in 
a sort of mould, formed by a mixture of peat and sand ; and when this earth 
is put into the pot, it is mixed with good-sized pebbles, some of whicli are 
suffered to protrude through the surface of the soil. The roots of heath are 



484 



farmer's hand-book. 



extremely fine and hair-like, and the shelter afforded by the pebbles is so 
congenial to them, that, if one ol the stones be taken out, a cluster of fine,, 
white, vigorous roots will be found below it. The plants are always potted 
high, so as to let the base of the stem be above the level of the rim of the 
pot, as the plants are very apt to damp off, if the collar of the plant be buried 
in the ground. Heaths should never be suffered to become too dry, and 
never keep too wet. They require little heat ; many varieties of old 
favorites now appear double and triple leaved, with an infinity of dif- 
ferent colors. Foliage plants have been introduced of late years, and 
by their differently colored and bright leaves are made to contribute 
much to the beauty of lawn gardening. All the leading florists furnish 
catalogues descriptive of the appearance and mode of raising these 
beautiful plants. 

Garden Decorations. — The decorations usual in flower-gardens are intro- 
duced either with a view to utility, to convenience, or simply by way of 
pleasing ornaments; which, if managed with taste and skill, may be brought 
into according harmony or pleasing contrast with the natural beauties of the 
flowers, or with the artificial arrangement of their forms and colors. We 
will specify a few of these different ornamental designs, in order to add to 
the interest of our remarks in this department. First come arbors, which 
may be either purely natural, partly natural and partly artificial, or entirely 

Fig. 273. 




the result of art. Of the first are tliose formed by the banyan-fig, in tropi- 
cal climes, whose lateral and widely extended branches send down numer- 



FLOWERS, ORNAMENTAL TREES, ETC. 



485 



ous shoots, which fix themselves in the ground. Such are those formed by 
our various weeping varieties of forest trees, — the w^eeping-ash, birch, 
beech, elm, willovi^, and the like. These trees, with their lithe and tenuous 
branches, waving with every breeze, are the most natural, and perhaps the 
most delightful, of arbors. To the second kind belong all those which are 
formed by the hand of man, aided by some natural suitability of circum- 
stances, or accidental advantages. Thus an aged forest tree may have some 
appropriate climbing plant placed at its roots, so as to run through its 
branches and foliage, and ultimately descend gracefully from the extremi- 
ties, until it nearly touches the ground. The construction of the third kind 
of arbor depends much on the chances of situation ; and many designs, or 
minute instructions, would be, therefore, superfluous, as they must be famil- 
iar, in their various forms, to almost every reader. The following figure 
represents a pretty design for an arbor of permanent construction. 

Fio;. 274. 




Garden Seats add much to the beauty and attractiveness of a flower-garden. 
These may be placed either in arbors or under some embowering shade, or 




41* 



486 



farmer's hand-book. 



in the open garden ; and may be composed of hazel-rods, or straight, small 
branches of any other tough wood. Five or more young trees, of the moun- 
tain-ash, the oak, or spruce fir, bound together, form good rustic columns, 
around which climbing roses may be trained, and the whole covered in with 
a light roof, with rampant ivy, clematis, or jasmine, as in Fig. 275. For 
occasional convenience, the various forms of the Turkish tent may be adopted ; 
and when pitched on a lawn, amongst clumps of flowers in the modern style, 



Fiar. 276. 




^^^^^^ 



has a very agreeable effect. Besides arbors and garden-seats, vases may 
be introduced with good effect ; also, fountains, flower-stands, aviaries, and 
sun-dials, in all the different styles of workmanship. The latter, when set 
in an unshaded part of the garden, and mounted on a column, around which 



FLOWERS, ORNAMENTAL TREES, ETC. 



481 



Bome flowering plant has been trained to climb, will form a very pleasing 
object. We give a cut of one of these. 

Fi-. 277. 




DESCRIPTION OF STANDARD VARIETIES OF FLOWERS. 

Althea Fruteoc. — This is a beautiful shrub, requiring a warm and shel- 
tered situation in the Northern States. Sow the seeds in spring, and 
protect the young plants during the winter. 

Almond (Douhle Flowering) . — A shrubby plant, bearing beautiful rose- 
like flowers in the spring. It is propagated by suckers. 

Amaranthus Tricolor. — An annual plant, vvitii a beautifully variegated 
foliage of red, green, and yellow. The seed is found in little tufts about 
the stalk, and may be sown in April or May. 

Animated Oats. — An annual plant, and resembles the common oats while 
growing. The seeds are clothed with a stiff down, and have appendages 
like the legs of some insect, with apparent joints. They are affected by the 
changes of the weather, and, of course, are continually moving. If they 
be wet, they will turn over several times, and twist about. If wet, and 
held to a lighted lamp, they exhibit such motions of apparent agony as an 
insect would, placed in a like situation. 

Aster, China. — An annual, producing many splendid flowers. There 
are several varieties, as red, white, purple, yellow, striped, quilled, &c. 
The seed should be sown early in the spmig. It flowers late, but is 
destroyed by severe frost. 

Auricula. — There are several species. It may be raised from seed, but 
like does not produce like, in all cases. They are best raised by dividing 
the rootS, which send out several voung plants annually. They are tender, 
ana, il planted in open ground, they must be well covered, and be kept 
from severe frost and rain during the winter. They are well adapted for 
pots, to flower in the house. 

Azalea Nudifora. — It is commonly known as the American Honeysuckle^ 



488 



FARMER S HAND-BOOK. 



and includes several species. It bears abundantly, the flowers having a fine 
perfume and making a very handsome show. 

Box. — A low, delicate shrub, which may be pruned to any shape to 
please the fancy. It is an evergreen, hardy, and suitable for borders. It is 
grown by cuttings, or by dividing the roots. If a plant be placed deep in 
the earth, and the soil be brought in close contact with the small branches 
(being spread as much as possible), they will send out roots, and furnish a 
large number of small plants. In trimming this shrub, let the operation be 
done well, using the proper utensils. 



Fig. 278. 




Brier, Sweet. — A well-known rose-bush, hardy, adapting itself to a poor 
soil. The foliage and flowers are bright, and delightfully fragrant. 

Canterbury Bell. — A biennial plant, bearing large blue flowers, which 
are much admired, and make a fine appearance. 

Carnation. — A biennial and perennial, comprising several superb va- 
rieties. May be grown by layers. While it is in flower, it sends out 
several side shoots near the root ; these are pinned down in August, a little 
under the earth, leaving the extreme part erect ; in a little time they take 
root, and the new plant must be severed from the old, and transplanted. 
The old plant does not always stand another winter ; therefore its branches 
are used to continue the species. Carnations are rather tender as to frost, 
and must be covered, in the Northern States, to live through the winter. 
It is best to put them into large pots, and keep them in a green-house or 
parlor, or in some place where they can have air and light during winter. 

Cassia Marylandica. — This is a perennial plant, producing many small 
yellow flowers, suitable only to stand in a border. It is hardy, and is 
propagated by seed. 



FLOWERS, ORNAMENTAL TREES, ETC. 489 

Catalpa. — A beautiful tree, raised by seed. Much admired for its 
foliage and showy flowers, which are very ornamental in the garden. 

Cherry, Double-flowering. — This is one of the most beautiful trees in 
the flower-garden or shrubbery ; cultivated the same as the common cherry- 
tree. 

Chrysanthemum Jndicum. — A fine perennial plant, hardy, flowering 
brilliantly late in the autumn, and comprising several varieties. The plants 
may remain in the open ground until late in the fall, and then be taken up 
and placed in pots. When tlie frosts appear, keep them in a warm room 
until after flowering, and then put the roots in the cellar or open ground. 
They will flower in the garden, if carefully attended to. Raise by dividing 
the roots. 

Clematis, Austrian. — A perennial plant, producing very pretty flowers. 
It is best propagated by dividing the roots. 

Clethra. — A well-known plant, bearing clusters of fragrant flowers in 
the fall. 

Columbine. — A very common perennial, including different species; 
very neat. 

Convolvulus. — Many species — annual. Convolvulus major is commonly 
called Morning Glory. It is a vine, and a great runner — many colors. 
Convolvulus minor, called Beauty of the Night, because it blossoms at 
evening — many colors. Sow the seed early in the spring. 

Corchorus Japonicus. — A shrub frequently cultivated in green-houses, 
but may be grown in the garden. It bears wreaths of golden-yellow 
flowers. 

Crocus. — A bulbous-rooted plant, hardy, early; colors, blue, yellow, 
white, purple, &c. It is grown by the bulbs. A pretty pot-flower. 

Cupid^s Car, or Monk's Hood. — A fine, vigorous annual, bearing a 
profusion of pretty blue flowers, during the summer and fall. Propagated 
by a division of the roots. A very neat plant for the flower-garden. 

Dahlia. — A beautiful Mexican flower, embracing many varieties of color 
and shade. A somewhat sandy or gravelly soil is thought best, in order 
to prevent their growing too luxuriant, and to obtain more flowers. They 
may be raised by seed, or by a division of the roots. Sow the seed in 
March, in pots, and place in a hot-bed or green-house. About the middle 
of May, or when there is no danger from frost, plant them out in the 
borders, or wherever they are to stand ; and as they increase in height, let 
them be well supported by stakes, to prevent the wind breaking them down. 
The roots are tuberous, resembling a sweet potato, and should be taken up 
in October or November, and preserved through the winter in a box filled 



490 farmer's hand-book, 

with dry sand, placed out of reach of the frost. Plant only those which 
have a bud, and divide the roots carefully. 

Daisy. — A small, delicate, perennial plant, producing small but attract- 
ive flowers. It is hardy, and will bear flowers through the winter, if kept 
in pots or boxes, in the house. Raised by ofl!sets. 

Dwarf Basil. — A very fragrant annual, raised from the seeds. 

Eupatorium {Blue) . — Perennial ; bearing a profusion of beautiful flow- 
ers, and propagated most readily by dividing the roots. 

Euphorbia Lathyris. — This is a biennial plant, commonly known as the 
Coper-tree. It is singular in its foliage. Rather tender. Propagated by 
Eeed. 

Fading Beauty, or Morning Bride. — An annual plant, producing hand- 
some flowers, which last but a few hours, or less. Plant the seed in spring. 

Foxglove. — A handsome flowering biennial and perennial plant, com- 
prising several varieties. Sow the seed in spring, covering lightly with 
earth. 

Fringe Tree. — A handsome shrub, covered with white flowers. Hardy, 
and will grow in any soil, but flourishes best in moist ground. 

Geranium. — There are many varieties of this much-admired plant. 
Some give flowers, with little or no leaf; others possess beauty of leaf, as 
well as of flowers : some give no perfume ; others are delightfully fragrant. 
It is easily propagated by cuttings from any part of the plant, old wood or 
young, and placed in pots. In a green-house, or parlor, they will bloom in 
winter. 

Garden Angelica. — Perennial ; bold and showy when in flower. Raised 
from the seed, and well adapted for some situations in the garden. 

Glycine. — A perennial vine, bearing variegated flowers. It will grow 
on the side of a house or wall to a great extent, making a fine appearance. 
It is propagated both from seed and layers. 

Golden Coreopsis. — This is an annual, bearing a profusion of rich, bril- 
liant yellow flowers, having a purple centre. It is easily raised from the 
seed. 

Golden Everlasting. — A somewhat peculiar plant, bearing a late, bright 
yellow flower, which, if taken off before the seed ripens, will retain its 
brightness for many years. Plant the seed early in the spring. 

Hollyhock. — A hardy, perennial plant — showy for a shrubbery. There 
are several varieties, — the single, double, white, red, yellow, dark, &c. 

Honeysuckle. — This plant is very beautiful in its place: it climbs up 
houses, and over hedges ; it forms arbors and bovvers ; it blooms in clusters. 
There are several varieties. The Italian produces an abundance of change- 
able flowers early in the season, diffusing a rich fragrance all around. The 



FLOWERS, ORNAMENTAL TREES, ETC. 491 

Variegated blooms monthly, and is very fragrant. The Scarlet Trumpet 
also blooms monthly, — scarlet flowers, making a handsome appearance. It 
may be grown by seeds and cuttings, but best by layers. 

Hyacinth. — A bulbous-rooted plant, and, like all other plants of this 
class, is perennial. It is an early, beautiful, and fragrant flower. It will 
bloom in glasses filled with water, in a room, but better in pots of earth. 
It is best propagated by offsets. While the parent root is blowing, it 
sends out several young ones. They should be planted at a depth of four 
inches. There are many varieties of this admired flower, both single and 
double ; the former have the brightest colors, but the latter are generally 
preferred. 

Hydrangea. — This is a small shrub, producing large and changeable 
flowers, being at first green, then becoming gradually rose-colored, and after- 
wards green, occupying about six months. It is a house-plant — will bear 
some frost, but should be kept, during the winter, in a green-house, parlor, 
or a cellar where there is some light. Propagate by cuttings. 

Ice Plant. — A well-known annual, having a peculiar icy appearance. 
Plant the seeds in pots, in the spring. 

Impatiens Balsamina. — Commonly known as Balsamine. A very fine 
annual plant, bearing a profusion of gaudy flowers. There are several 
varieties, — single and double, rose-colored, red, white, crimson, purple, 
and variegated. It commences flowering in July, and continues till cold 
weather. Sow the seed in May. 

Iris, or Flower-de-lis. — A hardy, perennial plant, comprising many 
varieties, both large and small ; a favorite plant, raised by dividing the 
roots. 

Lagentrccnia Indica. — A flowering shrub, which endures the winter of 
the Middle and Southern States, but requires attention further North. 

Laburnum. — A tall and handsome shrub, loaded, when in bloom, with 
yellow flowers. Sometimes called Golden Chain. It is raised from seed, 
and requires a warm and sheltered situation. 

Larkspur. — An annual plant, of no fragrance, but of great variety of 
colors. It makes a pretty appearance, and is raised from the seed. 

Laurel {Broad-leaved). — This ie an evergreen shrub, bearing flowers of 
great delicacy and beauty, being white, tinged with red. 

Lilac. — A large, shrubby tree, hardy, and handsome when in bloom, 
having large bunches of fragrant flowers. The white and the purple may 
De easily grafted or inoculated into each other, and when the shrub, with 
a handsome head, is thus managed, some branches producing purple and 
others white flowers, the show is very fine. It is raised from suckers, of 
which it sends out a great many, but from which it should be freed as much 



492 farmer's hand-book. 

as possible. The Persian lilac is a neater shrub, bearing delicate white 
flowers. It is propagated by suckers. 

Lily. — Tliere are many varieties of this plant. The White grows three 
or four feet high, and bears large, white, sweet-smelling flowers. The 
Tiger grows one or two feet higher, producing gaudy spotted flowers. The 
Martagon is similar to the latter, but more delicate : all these are bulbous- 
rooted, and are best propagated from offsets. The Asphodel grows to the 
height of two feet, and bears handsome yellow flowers ; it is propagated by 
seed or offsets. The Lily of the Valley is a small dwarf plant, that thrives 
best in the shade, producing small, delicate flowers, of a sweet odor. 
Raised by offsets. 

Lime Plant. — A singular plant, the stem, foliage, flower, and fruit, 
being formed in the earth, and, after the plant has come up, there is 
nothing more than the extension of parts. The stems, when from eight to 
twelve inches high, branch out in two arms, at the extremity of each of 
which is a large palmated leaf. In the fork proceeds the fruit-stem. The 
first that is seen in the spring is a delicate membraneous cap, which is soon 
burst open by the flower-bud, which is large, round, and white. Next 
appear the shoulders and arms, lying close to the stem or trunk ; and as the 
plant rises, the fruit-stem elongates and the arms elevate themselves. The 
fruit is about the size of a large lime, — green while growing, and yellow 
when ripe. A moist soil, in a shady situation, is best. Propagate by seed, 
or by dividing the roots, which are creeping and jointed. 

Lobelia. — A very interesting genus of flowering plants, alike pleasing 
to the eye, and useful to the pharmaceutist. The green-house, hot-house, 
shrubby, and herbaceous kinds, grow well in a mixture of peat and sand; 
the shrubby kinds being readily increased by cuttings, and the herba- 
ceous species by division as well as by seeds. The hardy, herbaceous 
varieties flourish in a light, rich earth ; but in the cold weather of the 
winter season, most of them require the protection of a frame. The 
green-house annuals and biennials must be sown in pots; but those of 
the hardier plants may be sown in the open border. The L. longiflora is 
a very venomous plant, fatal results following its use. 

Lungicort is the common name of a speeiesof remarkably-pretty flower- 
ing plants, well adapted for ornamenting the fronts of shrubberies. They 
are easily increased by divisions, and will thrive in any ordinary soils. 
Their generic name is Pidmonaria. 

Lyclinadia. — A perennial plant, comprising several varieties: purple, 
•white,, striped, &c. The plant is hardy, bears an abundance of delicate 



FLOWERS, ORNAMKNTAL TREES, ETC. 



493 



fl iwers, and continues long in bloom. It is best propagated by dividing 
the roots. 

Magnolia. — A very elegant and showy plant when in flower, and one 
•which deserves extensive cultivation. Being a remarkably handsome 
shrub, it should be planted in a conspicuous situation, where it will bear 
a profusion of flowers when it attains a good size. 

Mezereon. — This is a small and beautiful shrub, blooming in the month 
of March, with a profusion of fragrant flowers. Hardy; raised by seed. 

Mignonette (R. odorata), an old and universal favorite, emits a very 
pleasant odor from its flowers. It is usually an annual, but, by green- 
house cultivation and constant pruning, it may be rendered perennial, 
and even shrubby. 

Musk Geranium. — An annual plant, having a strong musky odor. It 
will stand the winter in a common hot-bed. Plant the seed early. 

Myrtle {Evergreen). — An evergreen vine, including several species bear- 
ing a pretty blue flower. A favorite plant for ornamental purposes. 

Narcissus. — A bulbous-rooted plant, managed like the hyacinth. It 
bears an early, beautiful, and fragrant flower. It is hardy, and well 

Fig. 280. 




adapted to bloom in a pot in the green-house or parlor. Raised by bul- 
bous off'sets, which increase every year. Folyanthus Narcissus and Jon- 
quils, both elegant flowering plants, are propagated and cultivated in the 
same manner. 

Nasturtium. — An annual plant, with showy flowers. The seeds are 
enveloped in fleshy pods, and should be sown very early in spring. The 
plants should be supported from the ground by bushy sticks. 
42 



494 



FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 



Oleander. — A noble-looking, evergreen shrub, easily cultivated, and 
flowering freely during the greater part of the year. It grows well in 
a rich, light soil — and young cuttings root in any soil, if kept moist. 

Passion Flower. — This is a beautiful and celebrated flower, growing on 
a perennial vine ; the name originating from the large cross in the middle 

Fig. 281. 




of the flower, surrounded by appendages resembling a glory. The plant 
has a succession of flowers for a long time. It is tender, suitable for the 
green-house, but will not endure a northern winter in open ground. It 
is best raised from cuttings. 

Pceony. — A perennial plant, bearing a gorgeous but short-lived flower. 
There are several species. Propagate from oS"sets. 

Pea {Sweet). — There are many species of this annual, varying in color 
and scent. The Everlasting Pea is perennial, and produces many clusters 
of showy flowers, which remain in bloom a long time. Plant the seed 
early in spring. 

Peach {Double Flowering). — A very showy tree, bearing flowers of the 
size of a small rose. It is hardy, and managed like other peach trees. 

Pink. — A well-known perennial plant, fragrant, and embracing many 
varieties as respects size and color. A fine flower, and easily grown by 
seeds, layers, &c. 

Polyanthus. — A hardy, perennial plant, bearing handsome flowers. 
There are many varieties, and the plant blooms best in a shady situation ; 
best propagated by dividing the roots. Polyanthus Narcissus is a very 
pretty perennial, bulbous-rcoted, and easily grown by offsets. 

Primroses. — A numerous family of small, but very pretty and desirable 
plants. The principal species are: The Common Primrose, which bears 
numerous, large, sulphur-colored flowers, with a darker radiating spot in 



FLOWERS, ORNAMENTAL TREES, ETC. 495 

the centre. Scent slight, but agreeable. There are varieties of this spe- 
cies which produce both single and double flowers, of white, brown, and 
purple colors. The Bird's-Eye Primrose, which bears beautiful rose- 
colored flowers, fringed with a notched, yellow, glandular border. 

Pyrenium Parthenmvi (commonly called Double Feverfew). — A hardy 
perennial, producing large quantities of white flowers, and continuing in 
bloom a long time. It is easily propagated by the seed. 

Popj)y. — An annual plant, admired for its great variety in size and in 
flower. The double are very showy, but of short duration. Easily grown 
by seed. 

Purple Hyacinth Bean. — An annual runner, hearing large clusters of 
purple flowers, much admired. Plant the seeds early, and preserve from 
frost. 

Rhynchospermum Jasminoides is a beautiful climbing-plant, of Chinese 
origin, peculiarly adapted to green-house cultivation in the United States. 
The flower very much resembles that of the jasmine, and exhales a deli- 
cious odor. It is an evergreen, and sends out rootlets along the stem 
when brought in contact with the ground, rendering it of easy propaga- 
tion by cuttings. It commences flowering in April in the green-house, 
and continues to bloom for six weeks or two months. 

Bo.se. — Of this deservedly-popular flower there are many varieties, as to 
size, foliage, beauty, and fragrance. They may be propagated from seed 
or by suckers — the latter being the most certain and easy mode. The 

Fig. 282. 




suckers should be those which come out near the old stems, during the 
Bummer, and, when planted, should be cut down to four or five inches from 
the ground. Plant in October, November, or April. Keep the ground good, 
and dig it every autumn. They should, except when trained against a 



496 farmer's hand-book. 

wall, be cut down to a certain height, according to their natural size ; for 
when the stems and limbs are long, they produce fewer flowers. All the 
weak, dead or dying wood should be pruned out close, without leaving any 
ugly stubs. The Yellow Rose requires an airy situation and a gravelly soil, 
and every autumn one half of the old wood should be cut down within four 
inches of the ground ; by this means a succession of thrifty, blooming shoots 
will be kept up. The Chinese Monthly Rose is grown by cuttings, taken in 
the spring and properly placed in moist earth. It is a tender plant, and 
should be taken into a green-house or parlor during the winter. Some of 
ihem, however, are hardy, and withstand the frost. When gathering roses 



Fig. 283. 




and other flowers having thorny stems, a pair of scissors, combining tweezers 
or pincers (Fig. 283), are very useful. 

Rose Acacia. — This is a singular shrub, producing many clusters of 
flowers, much admired. Propagated by shoots from the roots. 

Rose-colored Hibiscus. — A perennial plant, producing very showy flowers, 
and making a good appearance in a border. Raised by seed. 

Rudbechia. — A perennial plant, producing many flowers, which are very 
durable, and much admired. Propagated best by dividing the roots. 

Scarlet Cacalia. — A small annual plant, producing numerous scarlet 
flowers, very showy. Easily raised from the seed. 

Scarlet Lychnis. — A perennial plant of two kinds, the single and the 
double, the latter being very handsome. The former is propagated from 
seed, and the latter by dividing the roots. 

Snowberry. — A small shrub, producing clusters of beautiful white, wax- 
like berries, in autumn. Propagated best by suckers. 

Spiderivort. — A singular perennial plant, in bloom for a long time. The 
blue is more admired than the white. It requires a light covering during 
the severity of winter weather. Propagated by dividing the roots. 

SpircBa. — A small shrub, loaded with delicate flowers in the season of its 
blooming. Propagated by suckers. 

Syringa, or Mock Orange. — A shrub, bearing flowers quite similar to 
those of the orange, and making a very pleasing appearance when growing 
with other shrubbery. Propagated by suckers. 

Strawberry Tree. — This is a handsome shrub, bearing, in autumn, an 



FLOWERS, ORNAMENTAL TREES, ETC. 497 

abundance of fruit, somewhat resembling the strawberry. The European 
is preferred to the American. Grown by seed and by suckers. 

Sweet Bay. — This is a very pretty evergreen shrub, well calculated to 
stand, in a large pot, in the parlor, during winter. It is propagated very 
easily, by suckers. 

Sweet WilHam. — An imperfect perennial, producing very beautiful 
flowers of small size. It is grown by seed, the plants of which do not pro- 
duce flowers like those of the parent plant, except by chance. It may be 
propagated by dividing the roots. 

Tulip. — In no family of plants has nature so multiplied her beautiful 
tints as in this, — there being several hundred varieties. It may be raised 
from seed, but the plants do not produce flowers like those of the parent 
plant, except by chance. They are raised best by bulbs. After flowering, 
the foliage and roots decay, and a bulb or bulbs are formed of the juices of 
the old plant. A bulb contains all the parts of the future plant, and soon 
becomes as much disengaged from the decayed plant as the ripe acorn ia 
disengaged from its parent tree. At this time they may be carried, like 
many other bulbs, any length of distance, in dry moss or dry sand. They 
should be planted out, about three inches below the surface, in a rich soil, 
in August or September ; after which, they throw out roots, and prepare for 
an early appearance in the ensuing spring. If the bulbs be kept through 
the winter and planted in the spring, tliey will not thrive so well that season. 
The nicer varieties should be taken up after the decay of the old plants, 
every year, air-dried, and kept until September or October, and then 
planted. 

Violet. — This little plant is perennial ; the flowers blue, double, and fra- 
grant, blooming early and long Propagate by dividing the roots. 

II. SHRUBS. 

Soil. — With respect to soil, hardy shrubs maybe conveniently consid- 
ered as constituting two great divisions ; one requiring any common garden 
soil, and the other requiring a large portion of peat or leaf-mould. 

With regard to the first division, a rich, light, hazel loam is suitable to 
the greater number of the plants, though some will thrive in the poorest 
soils ; but in this there is great diversity. After having taken out the 
original soil of the border, about a foot and a half or two feet deep, — 
though three feet will do no harm, — fill in the vacancy thus formed with 
peat or compost raised above the garden level, to allow for subsequent 
sinking. 

Seasons and Modes of Planting. — With respect to shrubs that shed their 
leaves on the approach of winter, they may be removed with safety as soon 
42* 2g 



498 



FARMER S HAND-BOOK. 



as the leaves have begun to fall in October. With respect to shrubs vphich 
do not shed their leaves and are evergreen, they may, if carefully taken up, 
be planted at any season of the year, provided advantage is taken of dull or 
dripping weather. But, notwithstanding, there are particular seasons when 
they will thrive better and grow more freely than at others. 

If the situation be dry, and the soil light and sandy, evergreens, with 
the exception of hollies, should be planted as late in November as the 
weather will permit. But in the case of a bad situation, with a soil reten- 
tive of moisture, May is the preferable season. Hollies should always be 
removed in June. 

When the plants are large or rather old, good balls should, if possible, be 
taken up with them, and all the fibres of the roots that can be got up with- 
out bruising or injury. Whatever may be the state of the weather, it is 
important to keep the roots as short time exposed to the air as possible. If 
only a few minutes, so much the better. In all seasons, situations, and 
soils, the plants should be well soaked with water as soon as the earth 
is put about the roots. As soon as a plant has been put into its place, the 
earth should be filled in, leaving a sufl[icient hollow around the stem, and as 
far as the roots extend, to hold water, which should then be poured in, in 
sufficient quar.iity to soak the ground down to the lowest parts of the root. 
By this practice, which is particularly necessary in spring and autumn 
planting, the earth is carried down by the water, and every crevice among 
the roots is filled. Care must always be taken to have as much earth about 
the roots of the plants as will prevent them from being exposed when the 

Fia;. 284. 




water has subsided. After the first watering has dried up, the earth should 
be leveled around the stem of the plant, and as far out as the water has 
been put on, but not trodden. If the plants are large, a second watering is 
sometimes necessary, but in ordinary-sized plants one watering is quite suf- 



FLOWERS, ORNAMENTAL TREES, ETC. 



499 



ficient; and after remaining twenty-four hours, more or less, according to 
the nature of the soil, the earth about the stem and over the roots should be 
trodden as firm as possible, and after treading should be dressed with a 
rake. The garden engine is now much used, in watering gardens, 
nurseries, &c. Fig. 284. 

After-managemejU. — If the season be very dry, it will be important to 
lay round the roots a quantity of moss, or cut grass. Whilst the plants are 
small, care must be taken not to let them be stifled or choked with rank- 
growing weeds, nor by the increasing growth of contiguous shrubs, and to 
clear away all rubbish that might retard their shooting ; also stir the sur- 
face of the ground frequently with a hoe, to prevent the surface becoming 
hard and caked in dry weather. The branches must be trimmed oif, too, 
which may be done by means of the implement below, — called a briar or 
bill hook, — as they grow too large or luxuriant, or overhang and smother 
each other. 

Fig. 285. 




Situation and Arrangement. — Some shrubs thrive best in a dry and ele- 
vated situation, and will not grow when crowded amongst others, or in low, 
damp ground, where other sorts grow the most luxuriantly. These and 
other circumstances must be attended to, in the disposal of the several roots. 
The beauty of the plants cannot be displayed, indeed, when they arc too 
much crowded, as they are then certain to be drawn into unnatural shapes. 
The more frequently, therefore, that open spaces can be omitted, the more 




will the shrubs exhibit themselves to advantage. Keep them well trimmed, 
Qsing the pruning-shears (Fig. 286) freely, whenever necessary. 



500 



FARMER S HAND-BOOK. 



One of the most important things, in planting- shruhs, is to attend partic- 
ularly to the shades of green, especially where the view from the house or 
lawn catches the trees. Flowers, which Pliny elegantly calls the joy of 
trees, continue but for a short period in comparison with the duration of the 
leaves, and, therefore, the more permanent picture should be executed by 
judiciously contrasting the greens. Even the effect of perspective may be con- 
siderably increased by the proper arrangement of hues. Shrubs, whose leaves 
are of a gray or bluish tint, when seen over or between shrubs of a yellow- 
ish or bright green, will seem thrown into the distance. Those, again, with 
small or tremulous leaves should wave over or before those with large, 
broad-fixed foliage. The light and elegant acacia, for example, has a more 
beautiful effect when its branches float over the firm and dark holly, or 
sweet bay. When the situation will permit, three or five lilacs may be 
grouped together in one place, and as many laburnums in another, so as to 
give effect in various parts by a mass of color. The guelder rose should 
appear as if escaping from the bosom of evergreens, and not a plant should 
be set in the ground without adding to the harmony of the whole. 

A shrubbery should be planted as a court or stage dress is ornamented — 
for general effect, and not for particular and partial inspection. Boldness 
of design, which seems to be more the offspring of nature and chance than 
of art and study, should be attempted ; but all harshness or too great abrupt- 
ness must be avoided, by a judicious mixture of plants whose colors will 
blend easily into one another. The most beautiful shrubs should, of course, 
be planted in the most conspicuous and prominent places ; a projecting part 
of the shrubbery, for instance, should be reserved for the rhododendron, the 
azalea, and other similar sorts, with which may be planted the hardier 
heaths. With respect to evergreens considerable judgment is required, in 
order to relieve their uniform appearance during winter. This may be done 
by skilfully arranging different kinds, and those with variegated leaves, such 
as aucuba, japonica, and green holly, or those which retain their brilliant 
berries during the cold months, such as pyracantha. 

A well-planted shrubbery depends not so much for its beauty on the ex- 
pense or rarity of the plants it contains, as on the selection of the sorts 
which succeed each other in blossoming throughout the year, or whose vari- 
ous-colored fruits grace them for the longest duration of time. It is not, 
accordingly, so much the shrubs, exclusively the ornament of the summer 
months, which alone require attention, but such also as will contribute to 
the gayety of the morning and evening of the year ; so that the gloom may 
be banished at all times, as much as possible, from the grove, and nature's 
repose shortened between the plaintive good-night of autumn and the 
cheerful good-morrow of spring. For this purpose, plant the hazel and 



FLOWERS, ORNAMENTAL TREES, ETC. 501 

filbert, as among the trees which blossom first ; and even the furz-bush is a 
great cnlivener of the shrubbery at this dull season, particularly when its 
golden blossoms are expanded at the foot of some dark-foliaged evergreen. 

Varieties. — Among the numerous kinds of ornamental shrubs may be 
mentioned, for a select assortment, — Rose Acacia, dwarf white-flowering 
Horse Chestnut, scarlet-flowering Chestnut, Strawberry tree, double-flow- 
ering Almond, Snow-ball, Japan Sophora, Spice-bush, Rose of Sharon, 
Lilac, Carolina Syringa, Spirea, Mountain Rose, Mountain Laurel, Azalea, 
Calycanthus, Honeysuckle, Hawthorn, Prim, Juniper. 

III. ORNAMENTAL AND USEFUL TREES. 

Varieties. — The most C(mimon, hardy, and esteemed ornamental trees 
are the Abele, Ailanthus, Ash, Basswood, Elm, Horse Chesnut, Linden, 
Locust, Rock Maple, Tulip Tree, and the diflferent varieties of the Willow. 

The best and most handsome evergreens are, the Cluster Bos, Common 
Box, Magnolia grandiflora, American Silver Fir, European Silver Fir, 
Larch Pine, Scotch Pine, American White Spruce, Norway Spruce Fir, 
Evergreen Cypress, and Hemlock. 

Sugar Maple. — With the exception of the oak and the pine, no tree 
has obtained more celebrity than the sugar maple {Acer saccharinum). 
Its neat appearance, and the beauty of its foliage — in summer of the 
liveliest green, and in autumn assuming the richest and most glowing 
red color — recommend it as a beautiful ornament for gardens, lanes, and 
groves ; and its culture is really a matter of some importance to the 
farmer, who may readily perpetuate and extend it. Planted out around 
the farm-house, along the lanes, and in the fence-corners, it serves the 
double purpose of an ornamental shade-tree, and of a never-failing suo^ar 
producer. If this plan is not adopted, three or four acres could not be 
devoted to a better use than as a sugar orchard. The trees may be planted 
in rows ten feet apart each way, and the soil loosened around them in a 
circle six feet in diameter, and to the depth of two feet. The rapid growth 
of the transplanted trees will depend in a great measure on the care used 
in their removal from the forest to their new location. If thrifty, they 
will be ready fur tapping in fifteen years ; and, if they do not profit the 
person who plants them, they will be a valuable legacy to his posterity. 

Tapping the trees. — In ordinary seasons the best time for tapping the 
trees is from the 15th of March to the 15th o-f April, when the weather is 
mild during the day, but cold and frosty at night. The first thing neces- 
sary is the preparation of spouts and buckets. The former are made of 
soft maple or ash, turned in a lathe ; and the latter are entirely composed 
of the wood of the ash. Two spouts are made for each tree — one, in- 



502 I-ATIMER'S HAND-BOOK. 

tended for the lower orifice, is quite tapering, three inches in length, and 
has a wire fixed upon the end, by which a bucket may be hung upon it ; 
the other is six inches long, and made in the usual manner. The buckets 
have a capacity of three or four gallons, and are so suspended from the 
short spout, that they can be emptied without removing them. These 
preparations completed, the next step is to tap the trees, which is done 
with a half-inch augur — the lowest orifice being made about twenty inches 
from the ground, and the other three inches higher up. The holes at first 
should not exceed three-fourths of an inch in depth, and they should have 
a sufiicient inclination to cause the sap to flow freely in freezing weather; 
otherwise, it is liable to congeal in the mouth of the orifice. When the 
flow of sap begins to slacken, the holes may be increased to the depth of 
two and a half inches, for which a larger augur may be used. The spouts 
should not enter the holes farther than half an inch, as the deeper they 
are driven, the more will the sap be obstructed in its flow. The sap may 
be collected daily from the trees, and put into large tubs, preparatory to 
boiling down. 

Boiling the Sap. — The sap should be boiled before fermentation com- 
mences, which, as the weather becomes warm, will generally occur about 
the second or third day; and the greater the extent of surface exposed to 
the atmosphere while boiling, the more rapid will be the evaporation. 
The best apparatus are large copper pans, six feet long, three feet wide, 
and nine inches deep, fixed over a furnace made of brick-work. While 
boiling, the scum should be skimmed ofi" as rapidly as it rises, and as the 
quantity of the liquid increases, fresh juice should be added. A tea- 
spoonful of slaked lime should be added to every fifteen gallons of sap, 
■which causes the impurities to rise, and neutralize the gallic acid. To 
prevent the sap from boiling over the sides of the pan, a piece of pork-fa.t 
may be suspended in it, or the inner rim of the pan be rubbed with the 
same substance. Charcoal is the best fuel to use, as, though a strong 
heat is required, it should be an equable one, and be confined entirely to 
the bottom of the pan. When the sap has been reduced to a syrup, it 
should be strained either through a hair-sieve or a woollen cloth, and then 
allowed to stand a few hours to settle ; after which, it may be drained off 
carefully from the sediment which has settled at the bottom. 

Clarifying. — After the syrup has been properly strained, it should be 
returned to the pan, and the clarifying materials, such as milk, eggs, or 
calves' blood, added. The impurities combine with these substances, and 
rise with them to the surface in the form of a thick scum, which should 
be carefully skimmed off. When the syrup is sufficiently reduced, which 
may be judged of by the manner in which it strings on being drawn out 



FLOWERS, ORNAMENTAL TREES, ETC. 503 

between the finger and thumb, it should be removed from the fire, emp- 
tied into large, shallow troughs, and stirred well for some lime, until it 
grains ; for if poured at once into moulds, it will take the form of candy, 
and not that of sugar. When properly granulated, the sugar should be 
put into conical moulds, or barrela with holes bored in the bottom, and 
set aside, to drain off the molasses. 

Claying. — In two or three days after the moulds or barrels are un- 
stopped at the bottom, mix white clay with water until it takes the form 
of a creamy paste, and with this cover the top of the sugar to the depth 
of one and a half inches. When this covering dries, remove it, and 
supply its place with a fresh layer about two inches thick. The sugar ia 
thus reduced in quantity, but its quality is correspondingly improved, 
and the amount of molasses greatly increased. 

Molasses and Vinegar. — These are usually made from the last runnings, 
the sap then containing a larger proportion of mucilage, and being less 
adapted for making sugar. This molasses, when properly clarified, is 
superior to that made from the sugar-cane, and possesses a peculiarly- 
grateful flavor. The vinegar, however, though excellent for table use, is 
not available for pickling purposes. 

Evergreens. — The value of evergreens for purposes of use and orna- 
ment has not, until recently, been fully appreciated. In many bleak 
situations, at least one-half the winter fuel may be saved by planting 
from forty to sixty good evergreen trees across the sweep of the prevail- 
ing winds, and they will also serve as a shelter to cattle during the winter, 
breaking the force of the cutting winds to which the poor animals are 
frequently exposed in the open fields. This may not be svn object in a 
thickly-settled country, where cattle are comfortably lodged under sheds, 
or in barns ; but on the bleak Western prairies, not a tithe of the cattle 
ever have the benefit of a shelter, and there these evergreen shelters 
would prove both advantageous and economical. As an ornamental tree 
they cannot be excelled, since they are always objects of beauty, and pro- 
duce a fine picturesque effect in the landscape. 

The Cluster Pine {Pinus Pinaster,) thrives well in a sandy soil, but re- 
fuses to grow in calcareous land. It is indigenous to the south of Europe, 
is a rapidly-growing tree, and very hardy. 

The Box [Bvxns sempervirens,) is a beautiful evergreen shrub, of which 
there are several varieties, ranging from the dwarf size to that of a tree 
twenty feet high. It is indigenous to Europe and Asia, of slow growth, 
but attains a great age ; and its small, coriaceous, bright green, shining 
leaves, are very enduring. 

The Magnolia grandifiora (Fig. 287,) is a beautiful evergreen tree, in- 



bOi 



FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 



dij^enous to the Southern States, -which grows to a height of from forty to 
sixty feet. It forms a rounded pyramidal head, well covered with large. 

Fig. 287. 




coriaceous, shining leaves, of great size and beauty, vrhich form a pleasing 
contrast with its white flowers, from which a most delicious perfume is 
exhaled. It does not thrive north of latitude 35°, not being sufficiently 
hardy to stand the climate. 

The American Silver Fir {Picea halsamea,) is a pyramidal tree, seldom 
growing more than thirty feet in height. It is very hardy, and, when 
standing alone, forms a perfect pyramid. 

The European Silver Fir (Picea pectinaia,) (Fig. 288), found upon the 
mountains of Central Europe, is remarkable for the regularity and sym- 
metry of its form ; the heads of these trees being always pyramidal. It 
is of slow growth, but attains a height of 180 feet, with a straight stem, 
and regularly-whorled branches, which stand out horizontally. The 
upper side of the leaf is of a very dark shade of green, with silvery linea 
beneath. 

The Larch Pine [Pintis laricio), indigenous to the Island of Corsica, is 
a rapid grower, and hardy as far north as Lat. 42°. It attains a height 
of 150 feet, and bears leaves varying from four to eight inches in length, 
according to the age of the tree. 

The Scotch Pine (Pimts sylvesl)-is,) succeeds remarkably well in the 
United States. In favorable situations it grows to the height of 100 feet. 
The leaves are glaucous, and in pairs. They do not drop from the tree 
until the fifth year. It is very hardy. 

The American While Spruce {Abies alba,) is a very hardy tree, some- 
what resembling the Norway spruce, though it is neither so large, nor so 
fine-looking. 



FLOWKRS, ORNAMENTAL TREES, ETC. 

Fig. 288. 



505 




The Evergreen Cypress {Cujyressiis sempervirens,) (Fig. 289), a native 
of the islands of the Archipehxgo, has been found to thrive well in the 



Fiff. 2S9. 



43 




506 



FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 



Southern States. It is a tapering, cone-like tree, with upright branches, 
growing close to the trunk. The branchlets are dichotomous, and covered 
closely withoverlappingscales or leaves, which are yellowish-green, shining, 
and remain on the tree five or six years. It does not suit a northern 
latitude. 

Fig. 290. 




The Norway Spruce Fir {Abies excelsa,) (Fig. 290,) is one of the loftiest 
of European trees, frequently attaining a height of 180 feet. It is a beau- 
tiful pyramidal tree, with a straight trunk, and pendulous branches and 
twigs. It succeeds well in the United States, being able to withstand the 
most severe winter, and forms an excellent shelter from the rude blasts. 

The Hemlock Spruce Fir (Abies canadeusis), one of the most beautiful 
of American evergreens, is a tall, pyramidal tree, well furnished with 
slender limbs, which decline gracefully, forming a cone of perennial dark 
green, which forms a very refreshing relief in ti landscape. It is very 
hardy, and will grow almost anywhere. 



FLOWERS, ORNAMENTAL TREES, ETC. 50t 

Osiers. — There are several varieties of this species of willow; but we 
have only space to notice those which are used in basket-making, &c. 

The Common Osier {Salix viminalis,) grows in wet meadows, and sends 
out long, slender branches, which are round, polished, and, when young, 
covered with fine silken hairs. This variety is very much esteemed among 
basket-makers. S. Forbiana, used for making the finer kinds of basket- 
work, grows erect and bushy, with upright, slender, smooth twigs, of a 
greeni.sh-yellow color, very flexible and tough. S. Rubra, or green-leaved 
osier, a small tree, with long, smooth, tawny branches, which are very 
tough and pliant, is one of the most valuable varieties, if cut down yearly. 

Mode of Cultivation. — Select a low, wet piece of ground, turn up the 
soil to the depth of twelve inches, and prick down cuttings of four years' 
growth, and eighteen inches long, at a distance of about three feet from 
each other. Fence them around with dikes or hedges. The best time 
for setting out osiers is during the winter months. 

MONTHLY FLORICULTURAL CALENDAR. 

January. — The chief business of this month is increasing the stock of 
potted flowering-plants, some of which will require the assistance of a slight 
hot-hed to bring them forward. This is to be understood as a means of 
preventing them going back, rather than forcing them prematurely for- 
ward ; it will also be a means of advancing seedlings fit for pricking out 
into other hot-beds, next month. A very moderate degree of artificial heat 
is suflicient. 

February. — The business of this month depends much on the kind of 
weather which prevails. If cold, wet, and inclement, very little can be 
done in the open garden, except protecting the bed-plants ; but if the 
weather be remarkably open and dry, something may be done in the way 
of preparing the ground for the hardier annuals. A slight hot-bed will be 
required to raise seedlings of various sorts of annual flowers, and to receive 
seedlings of former sowings ; thus, by keeping up a stock of desirable 
things, in different stages of growth, the garden may be replenished as soon 
as the cold season is fairly past. 

]\Iarch. — This being the first month of spring, renders the garden a 
busy scene, especially if the weather be open ; and everything recommended 
for last month should be continued during the present, with the addition of 
many other things of equal importance. The bed-flower plants, particularly 
tulips, must be carefully guarded against sharp frosts following snow or 
rain ; if the state of the ground permit, all the plots and borders may now 
be smoothed by the rake, preparatory to sowing the first general crop of 



508 farmer's hand-book. 

hardy annuals. Bahlia-seed may perhaps be sown in pans, and the old 
tubers placed in dry leaf-mould, on a mild hot-bed, or on a bark bed in a 
Btove, to raise shoots of which young plants are made for flowering. All 
green-house plants, which flower so readily and so beautifully in the open 
air in summer, should now, if not done in the autumn, be propagated abun- 
dantly by cuttings, on hot-bed heat, so as to be ready for the borders in June. 
All the different sorts of what are called tender annuals may now be sown 
in hot-beds, to raise plants ready f«r potting as soon as they are large enough 
to handle ; all potted flowers, as the auricula, carnation, pinks, stocks, 
wall-flowers, &c., should now receive their spring top-dressing of fresh 
compost, to assist them to flower strongly. 

April. — The flowers of some of the bulbs have now appeared ; those on 
the auricula stage and on the diflferent beds are coming forward, and require 
constant care. Tulips and hyacinths will need to be sheltered from wind, 
rain, or other injurious weather. Many seedlings which have been kept in 
frames will be fit for transplanting. Another sowing of both hardy and 
tender annuals may, towards the end of the month, be made to succeed 
those sown previously. Seedling dahlias, and all the tender annuals, 
require attention to get them forward. Cuttings of dahlias, and the slips 
or cuttings of Chinese chrysanthemums, also, must be got forward, by pot- 
ting singly and keeping them on a little heat, till fairly rooted, and ready to 
go into other pots, or to their places in the open air. 

May. — Sow another succession of hardy annuals and biennials, and thin 
and transplant some of those previously sown. Tender annuals, dahlias, 
chrysanthemums, &c., lately potted and in frames, must be guarded by 
mats against the cold of nights, and shaded, till they are well-rooted, from 
the sun by day ; such as are intended to be put out in the open air should 
be gradually hai-dened by leaving off the shading, propping, and defending 
from insects. Carnation-seed may be sown. A small bed of ranunculus 
may be planted to flower in August, and new beds of violets made. Rose- 
trees may now be pruned back, to obtain a late bloom ; and all other shrubs 
which produce their flowers on the shoots of the present year may, by cut- 
ting back at this time, be made to flower again in autumn. 

June. — All serious fears of the effects of night frosts are now over, 
and therefore all the more tender kinds of flowering plants may be planted 
abroad with impunity. Dahlias must now, if not done before, be placed in 
their blooming stations, with stout stakes for their support. The situation 
should be sheltered, but not shady, and is better if treated with a fresh com- 
post of rich loam and road-sand, well mixed, to grow in. Pot off seedlings 
if not already done. Auriculas may now be shifted ; and tulip, hyacinth. 
and ranunculus beds may still require attention, to preserve the beauty of the 



FLOWERS, ORNAMENTAL TREES, ETC. 509 

late flow(5rs, by shadinof or other care. Carnations now need attention to 
insure vigorous growth and perfect blossoms. Continue to plant out tender 
annuals, as well as any green-house plants which can be spared, to add to 
the gayety of the garden ; transplant annuals previously sown and standing 
too thick ; sow biennials, and propagate by cuttings every plant of which a 
supply may be wanted. 

July. — Whatever was omitted to be done in June should now be exe- 
cuted without delay. Take up bulbs and tubers when the leaves have with- 
ered ; sow and transplant annuals to bloom late ; propagate pinks, rockets, 
carnations, &c. Divide auriculas and repot them, keeping them shaded ; 
also, all other plants in pots, as Chinese primroses ; propagate pansies by 
division ; sow biennials ; prop Chinese chrysanthemums, and lay down 
some of the long shoots to make bushy plants of the tops. Regulate the 
patches of previously-sown annuals, and shift those of the green-house or 
stove. In short, sowing, transplanting, shifting into larger pots, propagat- 
ing by layers and cuttings, propping, shading, and watering when neces- 
sary, form the constant employment of the flower-gardener during this 
month. 

August. — If any bulbs which have done flowering yet remain in the 
ground, they should now be taken up, dried, and stored in a safe place. 
Cuttings of azaleas, ericas, and such similar plants, may yet be put in ; 
those of less woody character, as dahlias, chrysanthemums, geraniums 
carnations, pinks, and other herbaceous perennials, may still be rooted. 
Roses may be budded. Calceolarias intended to flower late should be cut 
in, and at the same time receive a top-dressing of rich compost. Another 
bed or two of pansies should be made to bloom before severe frosts set in. 
Mignonette should be sown in pots and window-boxes, to stand the winter 
in frames. Cyclamen persicum may now be turned out of the pots in which 
they flowered, and placed in a dry border to gain strength during their tor- 
pid state. Chrysanthemums, dahlias, and all other tall or climbing plants, 
should have supports. Carnations, whether on stage, bed, or border, neatly 
tied up and shaded, and layering for next year's stock finished. Seedlings 
may be bedded out. Shorten the first shoots of the rose-acacia, to cause a 
second bir+h of late flowers. Ranunculuses already planted for blooming 
in October must be kept rather moist, and the soil about them pretty firm. 
Violets increased by dividing, and place some in a frame for early flowers. 
Biennials may still be sown, and bulbs intended to flower in autumn 
planted. 

September. — In this month there is usually much irregularity of growth, 
decayed flowers, stems and leaves, required to be cleared away, in order 
tliat the flower-pots may not present the appearance of wildness or neglect. 
43* 



510 farmer's hand-book. 

Seedling^s of biennials and perennials should be thinned, and some of them 
placed in pots, or transplanted to beds or places where they are intended to 
remain ; all cuttings, pipings, or layers, which are sufficiently rooted, 
should also be removed to their final or temporary stations. Auriculas 
should b ; freed from dead leaves, the earth on the surface of the pots fresh- 
ened up, a little compost added, and, if any require to be shifted, it may 
now be done. The seeds of ranunculus and anemone may be sown in pans 
or boxes, if not already done. Dahlias are now in full beauty ; and the 
Chinese chrysanthemums, whether in pots or in the open air, require fre- 
quent watering, not only at the root, but over the leaves, to prevent their 
flagging under the sun's heat. Seeds of fine annuals, now ripe, should be 
gathered and saved ; and valuable green-house plants which have flowered 
in the borders should now be repotted. It is now, also, the proper time to 
prepare the beds intended for tulips, hyacinths, and ranunculuses, in order 
that they may be properly settled by plantinn-time ; and, indeed, much of 
the beauty and neatness of a flower-garden the next season depends on the 
preparation and disposition made at or soon after this time, whether it be in 
improving the quality of the soil or in altering the forms of the beds; and 
also many annuals may be sown in pots about this time, to be nursed under 
glass in the winter, ready to be turned out early in spring. This is a prac- 
tice which the florist should repeat frequently during the winter months. 

October. — Dahlias are still in beauty, and only require firm staking 
against the wind. If any new seedlings have not yet flowered, and are ex- 
pected or promise to prove excellent, they should be guarded by some tem- 
porary covering against being nipped by an unexpected night-frost. Chineso 
chrysanthemums standing in the open borders are in the same predicament ; 
their flower-buds may be destroyed before they are open, if not protected by 
Bome slight covering; those in pots can be removed to a place of safety. 
Pinks may still be bedded out, and carnation layers potted. These last, 
together with all other flowers in pots, luust be duly supplied with water. 
About the end of the month, prepare a heap of light and fresh sandy loam, 
and a sufficient number of proper-sized pots, for the reception of as many 
bulbs and tubers, such as polyanthus-narcissus, tulips, hyacinths, irises, 
crocus, ^c, as may be required for early and late forcing ; prepare also the 
beds for tulips, hyacinths, anemones, and ranunculuses, to be planted about 
the beginning of next month. Dig the plots or clumps intended for the 
hardier sorts of bulbs and tubers, which now require to be put in, namely, 
narcissus of all sorts, snowdrops, scillas, aconite, &c. Pot roses, Persian 
lilac, and the different sorts of American shrubs, and other plants proper for 
forcing. Sow some more pots and boxes of mignonette and other flowers, 
to go into frames. Perennials may be taken up, parted, and replanted; 



FLOWERS, ORNAMENTAL TREES, ETC. 511 

BO.te of the more showy sorts may be potted to go into frames, to advance 
their flowering in spring. Roseries may be pruned and regulated, laying 
down the long shoots and straggling branches, keeping the whole pretty 
close to the ground. Standard roses require to be close-pruned and well 
staked. 

November. — The previously planted beds for tulips, hyacinths, poly 
anthus-narcissus, ranunculus and anemones, should all be planted early. 
Where these flowers are cultivated in the best style, the collections are 
named, and require much precision in placing them in the beds ; but when 
executed according to the approved rule, the success is never doubtful. 
The other business of the season is taking up the tubers of dahlias, marvel 
oi Peru, or others which would be in jeopardy from frost ; pruning shrubs, 
as well to keep them in form as to encourage flowering. All dead or de- 
caying stems or leaves should be cleared off", the ground dug, the patches 
of perennial flowers reduced, vacancies filled up, edgings repaired, and the 
whole garden receive a general brush over, laying all as neatly for winter as 
possible. 

December. — There is little or nothing to be done in the flower-garden 
this month. The young seedlings of mignonette, and other flowers in 
frames, must not be forgotten ; indeed, everything liable to be hurt by frost 
must have sufficient protection. A few more pots of bulbs and tubers, and 
also another succession of annual flowers, may be sown in pots to go into 
fnunes, and be forwardea for planting abroad m the spring. 



CHAPTER XI. 

RURAL ARCHITECTURE, ETC. 

THE CONSTRUCTION OF FARM-DWELLINGS AND COTTAGES DAIRIES — BARNS 

STABLES — CART-SHEDS AND IMPLEMENT-HOUSES GRANARIES — CATTLE- 
SHEDS — ICE-IIOUSES — SHEEP-FOLDS — PIGGERIES — POULTRy-HOUSES — AR- 

RANGEMENT OF THE FARMERY GREEN-HOUSES — FENCES AND GATES 

HEDGES. 

I. FARM-DWELLINGS AND COTTAGES. 

The edifices of this class which are necessary upon the farm are those 
intended as residences for the farmer himself, and also for one or more of 
the persons engaged in the cultivation of it. The character and extent of 
tnese are regulated altogether by the extent of the farm, and the taste of its 
occupier ; but even when of the smallest size and simplest construction, the 
farmer's house should not be deficient in anything essentially requisite for 
the health, comfort and convenience, of even the most luxurious of mankind. 

Genera/Principles to be Ohxerned. — The chief condition to be observed, in 
the construction of these, is utility ; for, in fact, there can be nothing really 
ornamental, especially about the class of buildings which is now under con- 
sideration, that is not founded on this basis ; and the size, style, and character 
of the building, are to be modified according to the pecuniary means 
available for its construction. As general rules in the erection of farm- 
houses, it may be observed, that it is always desirable that they should be 
placed upon a platform or terrace, with a view of keeping the ground floor 
of the several apartments dry, and consequently rendering them warmer and 
healthier ; that the chimneys should be placed in the interior walls rather 
than in the exterior ones, this arrangement being better calculated to retain 
the greatest portion of the heat coming from the fires within the house, and, 
by the additional heat contained within the central mass of masonry, to 
make the flues draw better ; and that the ground plan should approach as 
near as possible to a square, as being that form which is calculated to afford 
the greatest accommodation with a given amount of cost. 

Plans for Buildings. — Keeping these principles in view, and accommo- 
dating them to the particular situation in which the structure is to be erected, 
every intelligent farmer will easily make out such a form and arrangement 

as may suit his peculiar circumstances. 

(512) 



RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 



513 



Model of a Moderate-sized Farm-house. — As a model for the construction 
of a farm-house containing suitable accommodation for a farmer moderately 
well off, the annexed plan may be referred to. From the entrance and stair- 
case, A, there is a kitchen, b, with back kitchen or store-room, c, and pantry, 

Fig. 291. 




D. There are two good parlors, e and f ; a store-room and cellar, g, which 
may be connected with the kitchen, or entered from the outside, as may be 
thought necessary. The three small apartments, h, i, k, may be used as 
store-rooms for some of the smaller implements. It will perhaps be conve- 
nient that one of them should be a water-closet, and another may be fitted 
up as a carpenter's work-shop, in which such jobbing may be done as the 
persons employed on the farm can do, and thus save the time occupied in 
carrying the articles to the workman. On the second floor there are three 
good bed-rooms, one above the kitchen, and the others above the front rooms, 
with a dressing-closet over the entrance. The apartments on each side of 
the kitchen have lean-to roofs, and are not carried to the height of the other 
parts of the building. 

Model of a One-story House. — The ground plan of a house consisting of 
one story only, and calculated for the accommodation of a farmer of quite 
moderate means, is represented in the following figure. From the vestibule, 
A, a door leads to the kitchen, b, from which is partitioned off a small bed- 
room, c. The bed-room, d, has a dark closet, e, and a light one, f. The 
small apartment, G, may be used as a store-room, in the ceiling of which 

2n 



514 



farmer's kand-book. 



there may be a trap-door, with a suitable ladder reaching to 
which may be two sleeping apartments. 



ng to the roof, in 



its. 

Fig. 292. 




Model of a Medium-sized House. — The following design is for a farm- 
house of medium size, in which a portion of the front, and the whole of the 
kitchen part, are of two stories, and the remainder of one story. Fig. 293 
is the front elevation of this house. 



Fiff. 293. 




The ground-plan of this structure is seen in the following cut, -which may 
be explained thus : — a, outer lobby ; b, inner lobby ; c, dining-room ; c, 
closet; D, parlor ; d, press; e, passage under the stairs ; e, press; f, back 



RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 



515 






31 

-4- 



Fig. 294. 

2,0 }0 



5 10 

III' ■ '^ 




516 



farmer's hand-book. 

Fig. 296. 




Fig. 297. 




ET7RAL ARCHITECTURE. 
Fig. 298. 



51t 




Fig. 299. 



r::!>JiSf 



PEF^CISJJTl 




618 



farmer's hand-book. 



passage ; g, kitchen ; h, back-kitchen or store-room : s, sink , t, oven , u, 
boiler ; i, coal-house, or wood-house ; k, a sleeping apartment ; L, store- 
closet, or pantry ; m, milk-house ; m, m, stone shelves ; N, closet under the 
stairs, which may be a water-closet. 

Fig. 295 represents a side elevation of the same house : 

The upper floor, as seen in Fig. 296, may be explained as follows ; — N, 
Btair-landing ; o, p, q, r, bed-rooms ; q, press ; s, t, closets. 

Model of a Large Farm-house, dfc. — The design which is seen in Fig. 
297 is for a farm-house of the larger class, in which all the main parts of the 
building are raised to the height of two stories. First is the front elevation. 

A side elevation gives the view as seen in Fig. 298. 

The ground plan is represented by Fig. 299, and the bed-chamber floor by 
Fig. 300, explained in the manner following. In the ground plan, a is the 
outer lobby ; b, inner lobby ; c, parlor ; d, dining-room ; e, business- 
room ; F, store-room ; g, principal stairs ; h, passage to domestics' rooms ; 



Fig. 300. 




RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 



619 



h, h, back passage; ^, stair to domestics' rooms; i, kitchen; k, back 
kitchen ; L, wood-house ; m, milk-house ; N, larder ; o, pantry ; p, press ; 
R, water-closet ; v, kitchen-yard ; t, ash-pit ; 5, water-closet. In the bed- 
chamber floor (Fig. 300), b is the stair-landing; a, e, f, k, bed-rooms; g, 
principal stairs ; H, passage ; c, dressing-room, or room for various purposes ; 
g, domestics' stairs ; n, closet ; l, domestics' room ; i, press ; h, landing of 
back stairs. 

The Tudor Style. — Of late years, the fashion of architecture so prevalent 

Fig. 301. 




in the time of the Tudors, and called by that name, has been revived, even 
in cottage building, to a great extent, with very pleasing effect. It is, how- 



Fig. 302. 




520 



farmer's hand-book. 



ever, to be borne in mind that this ornamental style is expensive, and there- 
fore not desirable or practicable with those w^hose object is to provide 
plain and substantial habitations, at the least possible expense. Fig. 301. 

Modil of Double Cottage Structure. — Fig. 302 exhibits two cottages in 
juxtaposition, — a front elevation of the whole structure. 

The ground plan, seen in Fig. 303, is constructed as follows : — a, the 
lobby ; b, kitchen ; a, recess for bed ; c, store-room ; c, oven ; d, pantry ; e, 




stairs to upper floor ; e, closet or cellar under the stairs. The bed-chamber 
floor is represented in Fig. 304 : — f, the stair-landing ; G, bed-room ; g 
recess for bed ; h, bed- room ; i, closet. 



Fig. 304. 




Fig. 302 exhibits the cottage as having a single family-room or kitchen, 
on the lower floor, and sleeping apartments above. However limited thia 
accomiDodation may seem, it is fully equal, if not superior, to that enjoyed 



RURAL ARCHITECTURE, 



521 



by thousands of cultivators of the soil in this country, and incomparably 
superior to what is enjoyed by multitudes in the old countries. If we shall 
make use of the kitchen for containing a bed, it gives three distinct rooms 
for sleeping, with a small closet which may be used for the same purpose. 
But the cottage, in place of containing one room below, may contain two, in 
which case it will become more commodious. 

Modifications of Plans. — With regard to the architectural design of the 
cottage, it has not been deemed necessary here to do more than show such 
an elevation as arises from the plan itself. But the architectural design 
may be modified in any way. By giving a porch, by making mullions to 
the windows, by causing the eaves to project, and by enlarging the chimney- 
stalks, a more graceful exterior may be produced. A just taste will lead 
the designer of the cottage, as of every other building, to make even its 
architectural decorations in harmony with its known uses. A solid and 

Fig. 305. 




warm dwelling, suited to the wants and conveniences of rural life, is what 
we should desire the cottage to be ; and the taste will be best gratified when 
the architectural characters of the building are seen to be in accordance with 
these ends. The parts of the cottage on which the art of the designear 
44* 



522 



farmer's hand-book. 



might be appropriately shown are those just referred to. Fig. 305 repre- 
Benis a very neat sketch of a cottage of moderate size and cost. 

11. DAIRIES. 

General Remarks. — On proper attention to the construction of the daiiy- 
house materially depends the perfect manufacture of cheese and butter, and 
nothing should be spared in rendering it as complete in accommodation for 
the different operations as the nature and size of the farm will admit. We 
allude not to the elegance of many gentlemen's dairies, nor to some few of 
those fitted up at great expense for a large business, but to those upon a 
moderate scale, and in every instance where the object is not confined to the 
mere consumption of the family. It is, indeed, the more necessary to 
remark upon their deficiencies, and give some hints towards remedying 
them, as many of them consist of nothing better than an out-shed attached 
to the kitchen, and very few are erected with a proper degree of judgment. 

Different Apartments of the Dairy-house. — The apartments which are 
peculiarly appropriate to the dairy-husbandry are, one for milk ; another 
for butter in churning, or for scalding, pressing, and salting cheese ; and a 
third for implements, over which, in cheese-dairies, a store-room may be 
placed under the roof. 

Site. — The building, though placed conveniently to the house, yet should 
be apart from any immediate contact with the odor of the farm-yard, or 
other impurity, as well as from any pond of stagnant water, as nothing more 

Fig. 306. 



A 



\\&»g^J 




readily acquires an unpleasant taste or smell than milk and cream. An 
uniform temperature being also of extreme importance, the site of the 
structure should be such as to be as little as possible affected by the 



RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 523 

extremes of either heat or cold. The most experienced dairy operators dis- 
agree respecting the degree of temperature most suitable to the production 
of cream and the making of butter ; but they all admit that the house cannot 
be rendered too cool during the summer, and in winter it is easy to keep up 
a sufficient warmth. It is recommended by some of the most skilful that 
the main aspect be open to the north and east ; and the building should, if 
possible, be shaded, either by other walls or by high trees, from the south 
and west. The roof should be of a high conical form, or what builders call 
a " span roof," rising from the centre, and projecting downwards broadly 
over the sides, to shade the body of the house, which should consist of a 
narrow range of rooms, upon the plan of Fig. 306. 

To secure a Proper Temperature. — Of the apartments represented in Fig. 
306, the middle — that in which the milk is preserved — is the most import- 
ant; and, therefore, in order to secure as equal a temperature as possible at 
all seasons of the year, by excluding all direct communication with the 
external air, the outer walls — as marked black in the plan — should be 
made of sod and earth rammed firm to the breadth of full four feet in thick- 
ness, while the other walls of the building need only be constructed of a 
single brick, or even with lath and plaster, boarded on the outside ; nor is 
it necessary that they should be more than seven or eight feet high at the 
sides. A funnel should also be run through the centre of the roof to a 
couple of feet above it, to act as a ventilator, — a valve being fitted to it, 
which, by means of a pulley, can be shut or opened at pleasure ; or it may 
be ventilated in a more purely scientific, and perhaps much better manner, by 
means of the recently invented and approved apparatus now so much in use. 

Arrangement of the Apartments. — The arrangement of these rooms will 
therefore be thus: — a, the milk-house, with broad shelves all around, for 
holding the vessels which contain the milk and cream ; and in the middle 
is a table for preparing the butter for market. The windows are closed 
with lattices covered with gauze wire, to prevent the entry of flies, and 
double shutters of wood, to guard against cold in winter; or common win- 
dows with single shutters will do. b, the churning-house, with a boiler 
in one corner, and on the sides frames for cheese presses and vats, with 
large vessels of lead, slate, wood, tin, or earthen ware, for holding the 
whey, and pipes for conveying it to a cistern outside, for the use of the pigs. 
c, the wash-house for the cleansing and care of the utensils ; it therefore 
contains a furnace with a cauldron for scalding the vessels, and a pump 
communicating with a well. The outer door or entrance is here, and 
adjoining it are placed stands under the verandah formed by the projection 
of the roof, for exposing all the wooden implements which may have been 
washed to be dried and sweetened by the sun and air. 



!)24 



FARMER S HAND-BOOK. 



Store-loft or Upper Rooms. — In cheese-dairies, the store-loft may be 
placed immediately below the rise of the conical roof, — a communication 
being made by a stair-case in a corner of the wash-house, — but many farmers 
prefer having the loft over the cow-house, with the intention of for- 
warding the maturity of the cheese by its warmth. Some large dairies, 
however, have roofs in the common form, with lofts and sleeping-rooms 
over them ; and others, of a moderate size, have the milk-house sunk 
about three feet below the ground, with very thick brick and rubble walls, 
standing ten feet high, thus admitting of a cheese-loft above. The build- 
ings in the latter case are also constructed differently from that already 
described, — the milk-house having three fronts encircled by a verandah, — 
thus affording a strong draught of air through the windows, with only one 
door, while the other rooms are of timbers rising up to the roof, and the 
wash-house forms the only mode of communication between both. The 
plan, on the whole, lias the advantage of having the milk-house entirely 
separate from the chiiriiin<T and scalding room, as well as of its being 
somewhat cooler in suunner ; but what it gains in the latter respect it 
loses in the constant ecjuality of temperature, and its construction is more 
costly. 

Model of a Complete Dairy. — In Figs. 307, 308, a design is given of a 



Fig. %(n. 




complete dairy, which may either form a part of the farmer's house, or be 
distinct from it. The front elevation is as above. 

The plan of the ground floor, as seen in Fig. 308, is as follows : — A is 
the scullery ; a, steam boiler ; o, sink in the window recess, in which the 
water can be heated by a steam-pipe from the boiler ; s, small sink commu- 



RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 



625 



nicatLig with the pigs' troughs, in which the whey and other refuse are 
thrown ; r, r, stone benches, on which the milk-pails are placed before they 



Fig. 308. 




are put into the milk-room ; e, wood and coal cellar, with hatch, e, by which 
the fuel is thrown in; c, churning-room ; c, stone bench for milk-vessels ; 



Fig. 309. 




B, cheese-making room; h, b, b, stoue bench, for utensils; d, milk-room, 
rf, d, stone bench round the room, for milk-vessels ; /, table for prepar- 



526 



farmer's hand-book. 



ing' butter, with basin and fountain ; g, g, shed along the front of the 
building, for drying dishes; f, f, horse-course for moving the churn; h, 
passage from scullery to milk-room ; m, stairs down to milk-room ; I, stairs 
up to loft. 

Fig. 309 gives a side elevation view of the building. The plan of the 
upper floor or lofts, represented in Fig. 310, is thus explained : — a, the 

Fig. .310. 




store-room over scullery ; B, store-room over milk-room ; J, J, shelves ; c, 
landing of stairs ; d, upper landing ; e, cistern ; e, closet. 



III. BARNS. 
Plan of Apartments. — On tillage farms, where grain is produced in large 
quantity, the barn is an important part of the buildings of the farm ; but on 
farms where pasturage is almost exclusively practised, the barn becomes 
less necessary. In the construction of barns a great change has taken place 
since the introduction of the threshing-machine. They were formerly con- 
structed of dimensions capable of holding the greater part of the produce 
of the farm. When the flail is used in the operation of threshing, the barn 
usually consists of a plain oblong building, without any internal divisions, 
and of a size proportionate to that of the farm. It is made to hold one stack 



RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 527 

of com at a time, and besides the space occupied by the corn, room must be 
left for the threshing-floor, on which the grain is placed for the action of the 
flail. An essential circumstance in the arrangement of the barn, in this 
case, is the formation of the threshing-floor of suitable materials, and in a 
convenient situation. It is, for the most part, placed in the centre of the 
building, but it may be laid down in any other part that may appear more 
convenient. In the construction of these floors, wood, when properly laid 
and put together, is probably the best, and the most secure from damp, and 
may be arranged so as to be moved at pleasure. The dimensions may be 
from twelve to fourteen by eighteen or twenty feet. The materials should 
be well seasoned previously to their being put together, in order to guard 
against shrinking afterwards ; and it is to be observed that the platform 
thus made is to be slightly raised above the other parts of the floor. 

When the threshing-machine is employed, the barn is conveniently 
divided into a number of apartments, to facilitate the work in the operation 
of threshing, and to enable the unthreshed corn to be kept separately from 
the grain and straw. The barn for threshing consists of two apartments, 
one above the other. In the upper apartment is placed the unthreshed com, 
as it is brought from the stack ; and in the event of the farmery being placed 
in an inclined situation, advantage may be taken of this circumstance, by 
placing the entrance to this apartment in the same plane with the surface of 
the ground outside, which secures ready ingress and egress with the corn. 
The threshing-machine is placed at one end of this apartment, and it extends 
to that below. In this apartment also is placed the table on which the sheaves 
are spread out, and the feeding-board at which the person stands who sup- 
plies the corn to the machine. The lower apartment is called the dressing- 
barn, as the grain is received in it from the threshing-machine, and is 
there winnowed and prepared for use. The remaining apartment connected 
with the barn is that in which the straw is received as it falls from the 
machine, and when it is stored up for use. It should be of sufficient size to 
contain the produce of one stack, at least ; and it is desirable that it should 
be even larger, so that straw may be preserved dry, after being threshed in 
severe weather. 

Light and Air. — In the construction of the barn it is important that 
arrangements be made for ventilation and the admission of light. These 
objects are effected by glazed windows, consisting of two sashes, so that they 
may be moved up and down, or by means of what are termed lufTer- board 
windows, or such as are formed of small slips of wood, instead of glass. 

To prevent the Depredations of Vermin. — The floors should be formed or 
arranged so as to prevent the depredations of vermin. These frequently 
make passages into the space below the boards along the edges of the floor- 



528 



FARMERS HAND-BOOK. 



ing between it and the walls ; but this may be prevented by skirtings of thin 
sheet-iron placed around the apartments, and so formed as to overlap the 
floor an inch or more. The joining of the skirting with the wall is to be 
well filled up with mortar, and the lower part is to fit accurately to the floor. 
Model of the Washington Barn. — The following is a sketch of the barn 
structure sketched by Arthur Young for General Washington, explained 
thus: — 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, the barn ; 1, 2, 7, 8, the porch of do., with a small 

Fig. 311. 



22 »i f^ 



18 

1 • ''T- 


•'t 


1 IS 


1' 


16 


^ 


6 


7 


13 




5 


^fo 



7 « 



Scnle. 



J 1... L 



e 



door at 9 ; 10, 11, the great door at which the carts enter ; 12, the threshing- 
floor, which extends the space of 1, 2, 10, 11 ; 13, 13, bays, in which the 
corn is stowed ; 14, 14, 14, 14, sheds for cattle and horses: 15, 15, 15, 15, 
mangers, out of which the cattle get their roots, straw, and chaff; 16, 16, 
16, 16, passages, between two and three feet wide, for carrying food to the 
cattle ; 17, 17, 17, 17, doors into the passage ; 18, 18, 18, 18, principal 
posts on which the sheds rest ; 19, 19, 19, 19, gutters of bricks sloped for 
conveying the urine of the cattle to 20, 20, 20, 20, cisterns, from which it is 
every day regularly thrown on the dunghills, or made use of otherwise ; 21, 
21, 21, 21, sheds for various uses ; 22, 22, two yards, with each a shed for 
shelter, to be applied to any purpose wanted — one for sheep, surrounded 
with low racks — another divided for a horse or two, loose, or the other half 
for yearling calves ; 23, 23, enclosure of pales ; 1, 2, 8, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, the main 
body of the barn, which rises from fourteen to twenty feet to the eaves, all 
the rest of the shed being placed against it. The quantity of cattle room 
may be enlarged by a slight extension of the sheds at each end ; and all these 
points may be made to vary according to the views, circumstances and wants, 
of each farmer. 



.lURAL ARCHITECTURE. 



529 



BueFs Bam. — The figure below is the ground-plan of a barn according 
tu Buel's vievs ; a is the barn-floor, fourteen feet wide ; b, b, bays for hay 





^ 


Fig. 312 




ff 




1 1 

c 

e 


y 


1 1 
c 
e 


1 


1 


- r 

9 e 




'a 




ct 




e s 


d 


I 


Ob 


h 


d 




d 




£ 




1 


^ 


1 


e 

c 

1 1 


c 

c 

1 1 



d 9 

and grain, eighteen feet wide and ninety-two feet long ; c, c, stables for cat- 
tle and horses, thirteen feet wide in the clear ; d, d, passages to stables, four 
feet wide ; c, e, mangers for feeding, two and one half feet wide ; f,f, great 
doors, fourteen feet wide ; g, g, stable-doors, five feet wide, double. Length 
of barn, one hundred feet; width, fifty feet; posts, eighteen feet; pitch of 
roof, twelve and one half feet ; height of lean-to posts, seven feet ; pitch of 
stable-rouf, eight feet ; length of side lean-tos, one hundred feet ; length of 
end lean-tos, thirty-eight feet. The end view (A) and the side view (B) 
are seen in Fig. 313. The barn is framed as if to stand alone, omitting 
the lower girt at the ends on each side of the large doors. The lean- 
tos are then framed on to the barn in the simplest manner, the passage 
oeing round the main body of the barn, excepting at the ends, where the 
passage is in the main barn, and the lean-tos there only sixteen feet wide, 
45 2i 



530 



FARJMER S HAND-BOOK. 



and the manger is fitted up to the main barn. Only one passage is made to 
go into the short stables at the ends. Stalls are made seven and one half 



Fig. 313. 







feet wide, and boarded between ; and each ox or cow is tied next to the 
partition side of the stall, which prevents their getting together, and saves 
much room. The doors are sufficiently wide to drive in a pair of oxen 



Fig. 314. 




yoked, and large spikes are driven in the plates all round the stables, to hang 
harness, yokes, and chains upon. The bottoms of the mangers are raised 



KtrRAL ARCHITECTURE. 631 

ten inches from the floor and laid double : the sides of the stable are also 
battened with thin boards inside, which makes them perfectly tight and 
warm ; windows, with sliding shutters, are made in the sides, to throw out 
the manure. Girts run parallel with the main floor in the posts, across 
which are laid poles, nine feet above the floor, on which hay or grain can be 
piled up to the peak. This barn will hold two hundred tons of hay. and 
forty-six yoke of oxen, or one hundred cows or horses. If only ordinary 
stock is kept, the long lean-tos need be only eighteen feet wide, and the 
short ones fourteen feet. Granaries can be partitioned off from the bays or 
stables, as may be convenient. If a threshing-machine is used, a part of the 
stable can accommodate it. On this model barns of any size may be built. 
The improved barn-door roller, of which we give samples, ought to be u.eed 
by every barn-builder. (Fig. 314.) 

IV. STABLES. 

Site. — Stables should be placed in such a position that ready access may 
be had to them, without the necessity of passing through courts or yards 
where any animals are kept. They may have a court in front for containing 
the dung and soiled litter; but it is better that they be contiguous to the 
yards where the cattle are kept, so that the dung may be mixed with that of 
the other animals. If circumstances allow , there should be an adjoining 
cistern for holding water. It is better, for the regularity of superintendence, 
that all the farm-houses be under one roof, and, if more than one stable is 
necessary, that all the stables be together. 

Light a7id Air. — The essential point, in, the construction of the stable, is 
to afford suflUcient cubical space for air and ventilation, and suflicient area for 
the animals and the workmen who attend them. The most suitable breadth 
for farm-stables is eighteen feet within walls, though sixteen will do, and 
seventeen may be regarded as a convenient medium. There is no great 
objection to the extension of the breadth of stables and other buildings, 
except the expense of roofing, which, from the greater size of the timbers 
necessary, increases in a great proportion with the extension in breadth. 
The whole space should be left free to the roof, no lofts of any kind being 
suffered to be erected above the horses, so that the benefits of sufficient space 
and ventilation may be secured in the fullest degree. No point is more 
necessary to be attended to than this, in the farm-stable occupied by a great 
number of animals. 

The proper manner of ventilating stables, as of all apartments where 
animals are kept, is by openings at the ridge of the roof, by which means tha 
heated vapoi of the stable is suffered to escape. If these ventilators are of 
the proper number and size, there is no need of apertures in the walls, as 



532 farmer's hand-book. 

some recommend, and seem to think necessary. We may be certain, that 
if we allow the heated air to escape above, the colder will descend to occupy 
its place. The air within the stable will, indeed, be kept above the medium 
temperature without, but in no such degree as to injure the health of the 
animals. It will suffice, when the horses are out of the stables at work, to 
open the windows and doors, so as to remove the effluvia which have been 
evolved from the dung and litter; and, in warm weather, the windows may 
be opened when the horses are feeding. The ventilators may be formed by 
frames with louvre-boards, inclining so as to prevent the entrance of rain. 
But they may be simply and conveniently formed by making openings on 
each side of the ridge, defended from the weather by the roof-boarding and 
the ridge-lead. The windows of the stable may be formed with a glazed 
upper part, and sliding frames, below, as in the case of those of the granary. 

Stal/s. — Each horse should have his own stall, which should be six feet 
wide. Horses are always reluctant to lie down when they have not sufficient 
space, and many will scarcely lie down in the stable at all. The partitions 
of the stalls should be eight feet long, five or six feet high behind, and seven 
in front. They are almost always formed of boards mortised into posts, one 
near the wall, and one at the other end of the partition. The hinder post 
may be sunk deep in the floor, and be of the height of the partition, or it 
may be carried up to a beam extending along all the stalls ; this last method 
of construction is both substantial and adapted to the long line of stalls in the 
stable, and in this case, also, the hinder posts are not sunk into the ground, 
but let into stone sockets. 

Racks and Mangers. — The liorpe receives his food from racks and mangers. 
The rack may either be elevated above the head of the horse, or rest upon 
the ground. In the former case, the horse pulls down his food in mouthfuls, 
and this is attended with less inconvenience than, from the awkward position 
of the racks, might be inferred. In this way, too, it is generally believed 
that there is less waste of hay than when the rack is on the ground. But, 
however this may be, this species of rack is found sufficiently suitable in 
common practice : It consists of two horizontal rails, into which are fixed 
upright pins, slightly inclining outwards from the lower rail. The pins may 
be twr> inches in diameter and three inches apart, and the lov/er rail may be four 
feet six inches from the floor. This rack should extend the whole width of 
the stalls, and the slighter the inclination given to the upright pins, the better. 
It is common to make smaller racks of iron, projecting from the wall. The 
upper rack, for hay, does not supersede the propriety of having a lower one, 
for straw and green forage, which are best supplied from a low rack. It 
has been often proposed that racks shall be altogether done away with, and 
the horses fed entirely on cut straw and hay, mixed with farinaceous food. 



RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 533 

There is an apparent economy in ihis practice, but experience shows, that, 
in the case of the farm-horse, it is better that there be a system of racks, in 
which food is placed before the animals at all times. 

The manger is an oblong box, open at top, and placed at one side of the 
stall. Its dimensions may be fifteen inches wide at top, twelve inches at 
bottom, and nine inches deep. In this box the corn of the horse is placed at 
stated times, and in a given quantity ; and when boiled or prepared food is 
given, it is likewise placed in it. The system of partially feeding horses 
with prepared food, as potatoes or turnips boiled, mixed with farinaceous 
food, is an excellent one. To suit this method of treatment, the manger 
should be of sufficient capacity, as of the dimensions above stated, and two 
and one half feet long. What is not occupied by the manger is occupied by 
the lower rack. The outer edge of both the manger and rack should be 
formed of a continuous bar of stout wood, three inches thick, and four inches 
deep. Into this bar is to be fixed a ring, through which is to pass the end 
of the halter which attaches the horse, with a little iron weight at its 
extremity, to keep it tight. Often, however, though not so properly, the 
end of the halter is merely tied to the ring. 

V. CART-SHED AND IMPLEMENT-HOUSES. 

Site, dfc. — The injurious effects of the exposure to the weather on struc- 
tures of wood are well known, and they have suggested the utility of placing 
the carts and other implements of the farm in situations where they would be 
free from exposure. The carts and larger implements are usually placed in 
sheds open in front, but defended on all other sides. The circumstances to 
be attended to in their construction are to place the open side in that direc- 
tion which is most sheltered, and to preserve the implements in it from rain. 
It is not, however, necessary liiat the whole of the apartment should be 
devoted to that purpose, and it has accordingly been found an economical 
arrangement to have the granary, or some other store-room, above the cart- 
shed. Connected with the cart-shed there may be some apartment for hold- 
ing the smaller implements, which is to be secured by a door and lock. One 
part of it may be devoted to the carpenters' tools. 

VI. GRANARIES. 

Sj/e, <SfC. — Among the buildings used as repositories, the granary may 
be mentioned ; but, except on the larger class of farms, a separate building 
will not be necessary for holding grain. The most convenient situation 
however, for the granary, is above the cart-shed. In barns with threshing- 
machines, it is sometimes formed immediately above the floor on which the 
machine works, which admits of the corn being immediately raised to it 
45* 



534 farmer's hand-book. 

from the ground-floor, either by the threshing-machine itself, or by a wind- 
lass, easily worked by one man. In this case, as well as in every other in 
which the granary is placed over another building, it is always convenient 
to have a windlass to it, either immediately over a trap-door in the floor, or 
over a door in the outside wall. 



VII. ICE-HOUSES. 

Necessity for. — In a climate like that of the United States, ice is 
indispensable in summer — contributing alike to the comfort, health, and 
convenience of all who use it. In the cities it can always be readily 
obtained from those who make a business of securing a supply at the 
proper season, and preserving it for sale in sultry weather ; but in the 
country no such facilities exist, and each individual farmer must either 
lay up a sufficient stock during the winter months, or suffer a depriva- 
tion of those cooling and refreshing beverages which can only be con- 
cocted with the aid uf ice. To preserve ice properly, it should be stowed 
in a repository specially constructed for the purpose, somewhat like that 
described beluw. 

Mode of Cunstructioii. — Select and mark off a piece of ground twelve 
feet square, and excavate it to the depth of twenty feet, sloping the sides 
as they descend, until, like au inverted pyramid, they meet in a point at 
the centre, when they may be faced with brick, or rubble mixed with 
Koman cement, which will soon form a solid wall. At the bottom sink a 
well down to gravel, and fill it in with loose stones — thus supplying an 
outlet for the water which may accumulate. Cover the whole with a 
double board roof, rising to a point, and leave between a space of three 
inches, which may be tilled with straw, tan, or powdered charcoal. 
A more durable roof may be constructed of brick, but the first cost will 
be greater. Place the entrance on the north side, and let it open into a 
porch, six or eight feet long, closed by a tightly-titting door at each end; 
and protect the house from the sun's rays by planting trees around it on 
all sides. Pave the surrounding ground with brick to the distance of 
Bome feet, giving it such a pitch as will carry of all rain-water. 

Filling with Ice. — Cover the sides and bottom with straw, to prevent 
the ice from coming in contact with the brick-work, and pack the ice as 
tightly as possible. If the weather is very cold, and the ice sawed out 
in squares, this may very readily be done ; and, water being poured in 
between the pieces, the whole will quickly become a solid mass. When 
the house is filled, cover the ice with straw to the depth of three or four 
inches, over which lay boards or plank, to keep all snug. 



RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 635 

VIII. SHEEP-FOLDS. 

General Bemarks. — A considerable quantity of manure may be saved 
by folding sheep at niglits duriD.g the winter months, though such prac- 
tice would be injurious in warm weather. As a general rule, it will be 
found that sheep carefully sheltered from the severe weather of winter, 
■will be in better condition, and their wool finer and softer, than if left 
exposed to the chilling blast and pelting storm. The sheep-ftld is an 
important addition to the fixtures of a farm, more particularly of one 
specially devoted to sheep husbandry. 

Arrangement of Sheep-Folds. — Enclose three sides of a piece of ground 
with a shed eighteen feet wide, twelve feet high on the inside, and five 
feet high on the outside, whicii must be weather-boarded on the outside, 
and also on the inside, to within five feet of tlie ground. At each angle 
construct a building — one for hay, and the other for roots — with doors 
opening under the sheds, for the more convenient feeding of the sheep. 
Make the root-house walls and roof double, and fill in the space with 
some non-conductor, to prevent the roots from freezing: but be careful 
to secure proper ventilation by means of a flue, closed with a slide. 
Guard the open side of the square from intrusion by erecting a neat 
fence across it, and give the ground under the sheds a sufficient slope to 
carry all moisture into a gutter, running round the whole plot, and 
emptying into a pit ou the outside. 

Feed-Racks and Troughs. — Place the racks in a line, facing the open 
part of the sheds, leaving a space between them for the sheep to pass in 
and out ; and make each rack of a single plank, twenty feet long, 
twelve inches wide, and at least two inches thick, into each edge of one 
side of which, rounds three feet long may be bo inserted as to incline 
outward at the tops, where the distance between them will measure three 
feet. Leave a space of five inches between each round, and set in two 
or three at each end, to prevent the sheep from jumping into the racks 
while feeding. Mount each rack upon four substantial legs, two feet 
high, giving them a sufiicient spread to guard against their sinking into 
the ground, or being overturned. Place the troughs in a position conve- 
nient to the root-house, and niiike them of plank; giving a length of 
twenty feet, a width of twelve inches, and a depth of four inches, to 
each. Over each trough fix a plank on supports, rising from each end, 
and tenoned to fit into mortise-holes in the plank. A long nail passing 
through each tenon will keep the cover firmly in its place, and thus the 
sheep will be prevented from jumping into the troughs, and soiling the 
food. Before the hay-racks are filled each day, the sheep must be turned 
out of the yard, to keep them from getting seed ia their wool ; and if the 



536 



FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 



racks are well filled in the morning, each will feed 100 sheep during the 
day. One filling will be ssufiicient, provided the sheep can pick up a little 
grass, or they are fed with some other kind of green food. They must 
be well supplied with water, which may be readily done by means of a 
pump and long trough. Salt will also be frequently required. 

IX. CATTLE-SHEDS. 

Uses and Requisites. — Cattle-sheds are used either for lodging milch 
cows or young cattle, or for stall-feeding for the butcher. The principal 
requisites, in buildings of this description, are to be capable of being 
properly ventilated, to be constructed so as to require the least possible 
labor in feeding the cattle and cleaning away the dung, and to have the 
stalls so formed as to keep the animals dry and clean, with sufficient drains 
to carry away, and reservoirs to collect, the urine and dung. 

Arrangement of Cattle-sheds. — The common method of arrangement in 
these houses is to place a long beam of wood, about five feet high and two 
feet from the wall, at the heads of the animals ; and to this beam the posts 
are fastened to which the cattle are attached. The usual distance of these 
posts is about four feet. A movable ring is placed round each post, from 
which a chain is extended round the neck of the cattle, and they feed from 
a '-jw manger or trough, formed merely of a raised edge of stone or wood, 
between which and the wall the food is placed. 

A more perfect arrangement is now adopted. This consists in placing 



Fig. 315. 




the heads of the animals at such a distance from the wall as to leave a nar- 
row pathway in front, by which the food can be more easily placed before 



RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 5S1 

the cattle, and placing each animal in a separate stall, the stalls being 
divided by low partitions, just of sufficient size to prevent them from inter- 
fering- with each other. A movable ring and chain are also here used for 
attaching the animals, the ring being, in this case, moving on a vertical rod, 
instead of the wooden post. This arrangement is represented in Fig. 315. 
A, A, A, are the partitions between the animals; B, B, B, the upright 
iron rods, to which are fixed the rings and chains by means of which the 
cattle are tied ; C, C, C, represent the raised edges, or curb-stone, of the 
manger in front ; D, D, D, the partition separating the manger from the path- 
way by which the food is conveyed to the stalls ; E, the pathway in front ; 
and F, that behind the animals. 

In the internal arrangement of cattle-sheds for cows or oxen, the animals 
may be made to stand either across or along the building. When ranged 
lengthwise, the width of the house should be, at least, sixteen feet, and the 
space allowed for each of the animals of the larger kind should be six feet. 
The distance from the manger to the wall, being the passage for carrying 
along the food, may be four feet, to admit the attendant to supply the 
animals with their food with facility. A distinguishing feature in the 
arrangement of houses in which cattle are tied up is the open gutter 
behind, which is rendered necessary on account of the comparatively fluid 
nature of the animals' dung. The space between the manger and gutter is 
regulated by the size of the animals which are to occupy the stalls. The 
gutter is generally made a foot broad, and three or four inches deep, and it 
is usually made perpendicular in the sides. 

The organization of cattle being less delicate than that of the horse, they 
are not so liable to suffer from vicissitudes of temperature as that animal, 
and the same precautions for maintainhig an uniform temperature in their 
houses are not necessary. Complete ventilation is, however, essential ; 
and, to secure this object, milch cows, as well as young cattle, are fre- 
quently placed in open sheds, care being taken that the open side of the 
shed is sheltered from the elements. 

The most convenient arrangement, especially in the case of the larger- 
sized animals, is probably that in which they stand lengthwise in the house ; 
there being a space in front of the mangers for carrying along the food ; a 
passage behind them in which the attendant stands in cleaning them out, 
and from which he supplies them with litter ; a gutter communicating with 
a reservoir, from which the dung and urine are conveyed, as occasion may 
require. This arrangement is simple and efficient. The animals are sup- 
plied with food, and cleaned out with facility ; but this is not the only plan 
of arrangement by which these objects may be effected. A cow-house, or 
cattle-shed, in which the animals stand across the building, will afford the 



538 FARMEIl'S HAND-BOOK. 

Bame accommodation as that in which they stand with their heads ag'ainst 
the side wall, at less expense of walling and roofing, for the passages before 
and behind serve for the accommodation of two sets of cattle. 

Calf-houses. — The calf-houses are to be placed convenient to the cow- 
houses, to lessen the labor of carrying the milk to them ; but they should 
not be so near as to permit the cow to see or even hear her calf, if possible. 
In the construction of these apartments, the chief requisites are to secure 
cleanliness and a proper degree of heat, and to guard against dampness, 
which would be injurious to the young animals. vTo effect the latter pur 
pose, the floor may be raised some distance from the ground, and formed of 
laths or bricks, placed in such a manner as to allow any liquid matter to 
pass through ; and this artificial floor is to be raised so high above the 
Burrounding surface as to admit of the intervening space being cleaned out 
occasionally, otherwise it would become a receptacle of filth, producing the 
most offensive exhalations. The litter is thus kept dry under the calves ; 
but it must not be allowed to accumulate for a length of time, for the mass 
thus formed would prevent the moisture from getting through. 

The interior arrangements of calf-houses are sometimes similar to those 
described, and they are, in -fact, cow-houses in miniature. A more simple 
and equally convenient arrangement consists in placing the calves in separ- 
ate divisions, each having a manger or crib for holding a small quantity of 
hay, or young grass, according to the season. The partitions between the 
calves should be so high as to prevent their reaching over to one another ; 
for otherwise they suck each other's ears, and often suffer from lumps of 
matted hair being thus conveyed to the stomach. 

The feeding-cattle may have houses of the same construction as those 
described ; but they may also be fed in yards with sheds attached to them, 
to which they can retire during the night, or in stormy weather. 

Afartment for Boiling Food, Apparatus Necessary, and the Mode of 
Proceeding. -^ Connected with the cattle-sheds and feeding-yards, there may 
be an apartment for boiling or steaming food, in which a steaming apparatus 
is placed. Any kind of wooden box or barrel will answer for this purpose, 
so formed as to be readily filled and emptied. The steam is to be conveyed 
in a pipe to the lower part of the vessel, which ought to have a sliding 
board at the bottom, to allow the contents to be discharged when ready. 
The vessel may be filled with water, though this is not necessary in the 
case of succulent roots, as the potato and turnip, because the steam is 
quickly condensed. But when corn is to be boiled, it should be covered 
with water, to eflfect the condensation of the steam. An apparatus of this 
construction is represented in Fig. 316. It consists of a furnace and cast- 
iron boiler, A, furnished with a safety-valve, to render it secure from dangei, 



RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 



539 



even in llio hands of the most inexperienced person. This boiler may be 
made to supply warm water for other purposes in the farmery, the water 
being drawn off by a cock in the lower part of it. It is supplied with water 



Fiff. 316. 




from a cistern, B, placed at the height of five or six feet above it. When 
filled, the cistern requires no further attention, as the boiler regulates its 
supply of water by means of a float inside, attached to the valve in the 
cistern. Two casks, c and d, are intended to hold the potatoes, turnips, 
or other matters to be steamed. The steam is conducted to these from the 
boiler by a pipe branching off to each by stopcocks. As many casks as may 
be necessary for the supply of food may be attached in the same way. 
These, it has been said, are furnished with sliding hatches in the bottom 
for taking out the food when ready, and are raised as far from the ground 
as will admit a barrow or trough to be introduced under them, to receive 
the contents when they are ready to be withdrawn. For boiling grain, 
the cask for holding it differs from those used in steaming roots only by 
not having a hatch in the bottom, as the hatch could not be easily made 
tight, which is necessary in this case, as water must be mixed with the 
grain in the same quantity, or nearly, as if it were to be boiled in a boiler 
in the common way. It may be added, that the hatch not being tight in 
boiling potatoes is an advantage, and even necessary for allowing the con- 
densed steam to run out, and also all the earthy matters from the skins of 
the potatoes. In the figure, one of the casks is represented with the lid 
pressed down by means of the vertical bar, which is employed for this pur- 



540 farmer's hand-book. 

pos<; (luring the operation of boiling or steaming. In the other cask, the lid 
is represented as opened, with the vertical bar removed to one side. 

There is a steaming apparatus of an improved construction in use, con- 
sisting, like that already described, of a metal boiler with safety-valve and 
cocks, from which proceeds the pipe which supplies the buckets with steam 
by stopcocks branching off to each. The buckets, in this case, are composed 
entirely of cast metal, made to hold a determinate quantity, as a bushel or 
two bushels, and slide with facility off their stand when ready to be emptied 
and relilled. Barrels, or other capacious vessels, may likewise be attached, 
to which additional pipes convey the steam ; warm water may constantly be 
had from the boiler, and the superfluous steam may be usefully applied for 
heating, and other purposes of domestic economy. 

X. PIGGERIES. 

Site, d^c. — The piggery is usually raised as a mere shed attached to the 
wall of some farm building, and as near as possible to the kitchen and 
dairy, — which are too often connected together, — the sole reason of which 
position being the convenience of supplying it readily with wash. A 
certain degree of nearness is indeed advisable, for the saving of trouble; and 
in some farm-houses there is a door or window in the back kitchen commu- 
nicating with the hog-sty, through which the refuse vegetables and wash 
can be thrown to the animals without encroaching on time ; but the air of a 
dairy should be ever preserved quite uncontaminated from any foulness of 
scent. Those on a large scale should, therefore, be so constructed as to 
divide the range of sties from the dairy-yard by a wall sufficiently high to 
preclude all communication of unpleasant odor; yet having a cistern, with a 
trough, or pipes, passed through the wall, so as only to have to cross the 
court and place the fluid in the reservoir. 

Plan of Construction. — Upon whatever scale the piggery is to be erected, 
it should be raised upon a little declination, so as to allow of the drainage 
of the urine, to keep the animals dry, and divided into sties of between six 
and seven feet in width, and fourteen or fifteen feet long ; the back part of 
which should be covered with a low roof, and sufficiently large to allow a 
fatting hog to lie down conveniently. These sties are sometimes left open 
in front ; but although ventilation should be attended to, yet, in cold weather, 
they should be boarded nearly to the top, allowing only of a door to enter, 
and a couple of inches open space at the bottom to carry off the uiine. The 
boards, if placed in a groove of the frame-work, can be removed at pleasure, 
either to clean the sty or to render it cool. The uncovered part, which is 
used as a court for the animal to feed in, should be boarded in front by a 
low paling so as to admit the sun and air, and the trough for the victuals 



RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 



541 



placed in one comer ; but, as he is verv apt to put his feet into the trough, 
thus soiling and wasting his food, hinged shutters, which give way to the 
pig's snout and close on his withdrawing his head, are hy some persons 
fixed before the troughs, in order to prevent him. Bars are also occasion 
ally nailed at stated distances across the top of the trough, so as to confine 
each pig separately to his food, without being able to drive away his fel- 
lows. A better mode, however, is to place the trough outside the front 
paling of the pen, with a hole in it only just large enough to admit of his 
head ; by which means waste will be avoided, and the trough can be filled 
and cleaned without entering the court. The sties for breeding-sows, and 
those used for store-pigs, may be somewhat wider, and the trough should, 
of course, have a sufficient number of apertures for the little pigs' heads, 
together with a separate trough, having a larger opening, for the sow, as 
well as high enough to prevent the sucking pigs from getting into it. 
Where water can be conveniently obtained, it is a good plan to have a small 
spout directed through the sties, not only for their more easy cleansing, but 
to afford the opportunity of always allowing the animals to drink. The 
building, when not circular, may thus be extended to any length ; and if 
connected at one end with a boiling-house, and at the other with a cess-pool, 
into which the drains are emptied, the elevation of the whole will wear the 
appearance indicated in the following cut. 



Fig. 317. 




Pigs in Separate Sties, for Fattening. — If many pigs be reared, it ia 
always advisable to keep those of diiferent ages from each other, — and even 
those of the same brood are not of the same strength ; they should, there- 
fore, be placed in separate sties, not containing more than three or four in 
each, and those of as nearly as possible equal disposition. In the fatting 
of hogs, however, many breeders feed them singly in sties which only 
allow them to lie down, without being admitted to the court ; and some 
breeders do not allow them room even to turn. Some of these sties are 
built in the form of a cage of planks, one side of which is made to move 
46 



542 farmer's hand-book. 

with pegs, so as to fit them exactly, and to be enlarged with their growth ; 
they are either placed upon wheels for the convenience of moving them, or 
upon feet a few inches from the ground, with a gently sloping floor to carry 
oflTthe filth from the back door, and having holes at the bottom for the water 
to drain from, while they feed through a hole in front. The more general 
plan, however, is to build the sties in divisions, each to contain a pig, and 
to fit him as near as may be ; on one side is a range of small troughs, and 
on the other a row of sliders, which shut in the pigs. No litter of any kind 
is permitted, as the stalls are placed upon an inclined plane and swept out 
every day, and the chewing of their litter is thought to be injurious to their 
thriving. They are found to fatten more speedily, and consequently upon 
less food, in those sties, than ia the common ones, in which they can turn 
about. This is attributed to their quietude ; and it is said that hogs half 
fat, — weighing seventy pounds, — when put into one of these cages, may 
be brought to double their weight within four weeks. 

XI. POULTRY-HOUSES. 

General Principles and Requisites. — It is well known that too much cold 
renders fowls torpid, retards and diminishes their laying ; that too much 
heat enfeebles them : that the want of good water brings on many disorders ; 
that too much moisture induces rheumatic swellings ; and that an infected 
atmosphere renders them sickly and less prolific, injures their flesh, and 
makes them difficult to rear. From these circumstances may be deduced 
the principles upon which all poultry-yards should be regulated. The minor 
details, however, differ considerably in different countries ; and particularly 
the French and English breeders are quite opposed to each other on several 
points. In presenting, therefore, the different views and modes of two 
people so skilful in rearing the various fowls as the French and English, 
we shall elicit all the most valuable information, with regard to the subject, 
which will be instructive to the American farmer. 

According to the French, in order to unite all the advantages desirable 
in a poultry-yard, it should be neither too cold during winter nor too hot 
during summer ; and, if possible, it should be rendered so attractive to the 
hens as to prevent their laying in any by-place away from it. The extent 
of the place should be proportional to the number of fowls kept ; but it will 
be better too small than too large, particularly in winter, for the mutual 
imparting of animal heat. There is no fear of engendering infectious dis- 
eases by too much crowding ; and it is found, in fact, that when fowls 
are crowded into a small space, their desire for laying continues, even in 
winter. 

Situation, Form, dfc. — The best situation for a poultry-house is facing 



RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 543 

the east, — neither too far from, nor too near to, the farm-house. The form 
may be a parallelogram, of twelve feet long by ten broad, and as many in 
height. The floor must be raised about a foot above the level of the ground, 
the vpalls thick, very rough cast, whitewashed without and within, having 
no chinks, crevices, or cavities, to harbor polecats, weasels, foxes, rats, 
mice, or even insects ; and the roof ought to project considerably, in order 
to ward off" rain, moisture being a most destructive enemy to poultry. The 
door ought to be small, with an opening at top for the fowls to get in and 
out, descending therefrom by a ladder, to and from the roosting-place, 
which should be on a level with it, having one circular window towards the 
east, and another opposite the west, both of wire-work, with a storm shutter. 
These windows are chiefly for ventilation, and must be kept always open 
in summer, and as carefully shut in winter, except on fine days, during 
Bunshine. 

Roosting-perche's and Nests. — In the interior angles must be placed, upon 
edges or other supports, at ten or twelve inches distance, roosting-perches, 
of a square form, for fowls cannot bend their toes so as to grasp firmly a 
smooth, round perch. The intermediate spaces are appropriated for laying- 
nests, each covered with two boards, meeting together like a roof, to protect 
the laying hens from the dung of those on the perches, and to prevent them 
from being disturbed. These nests are osier baskets, firmly fixed against 
the walls, well furnished with cut rye straw, often renewed, and disposed 
so that the fowls may not break the eggs on going in or coming out. A 
watering place is indispensable, and the water ought to be fresh. 

To Render (he Poultry-house Healthy. — In order to render the poultry- 
house healthy, it will not be requisite to fumigate it by burning aromatic 
plants, incense, or benzoin ; fire, air and water, alone are quite sufficient for 
ventilation and cleanliness. It will be sufficient, therefore, after the fowls 
have left their roosts, to open the door and the windows of the poultry- 
house, and, from time to time, to burn a small bundle of straw, for the pur- 
pose of causing a circulation of fresh air, and to destroy insects. It will 
also be necessary to scrub and wash with cold, or rather hot water, and a 
little vinegar, the nest-basket, roosting-perches, and feeding-troughs. 

The surface of the yard ought to be frequently swept, washed, and it may 
be covered with a bed of gravel, or with straw cut small. 

The same house ought to be kept exclusively for the common fowls, other 
roosting-places being provided for the other sorts ; for though these will not 
be very dissociable with others through the day, they do not like to sleep 
under the same roof with species difierent from themselves. In particular, 
they will not suffer capons, even of their own family, to occupy the same 



544 farmer's hand-book. 

roosting-perch with themselves. The hens not only show them indifference, 
but decided aversion. 

Conveniences for Hatching. — It is important to have in poultry-housea 
several small, warm hatching and nursing wards, for hatching the eggs, and 
sheltering the newly-hatched chickens. In the ward appropriated to the 
latter, there ought to be separate cages or coops, where each mother remains 
eight days with her family, after which she is removed into an enclosure to 
finish the rearing of them, till they can without danger be trusted by them- 
selves. 

Appurtenances. — The accessories of the French poultry-house are — a 
small trench filled with dry sand and ashes, in which the fowls may roll, to 
free themselves from vennin ; another small trench, containing horse-dung, 
to be frequently renewed, and in which they amuse themselves, particularly 
in winter, by scratching for corn and worms ; two squares of turf, on which 
they may pasture and divert themselves ; a thick, bushy hedge, or, what are 
better, trees, to furnish shelter from the heat of the sun, — the best sorts of 
trees being the mulberry and the cherry, as they are very fond of the fruit ; 
a shed or coping, under which they may take shelter from rain ; stone or 
wooden cisterns or troughs, or vessels of some sort, with pure water, in 
order to prevent them seeking by chance what is bad or corrupted. 

Air and Space essential. — It has been stated that the French poultry- 
breeders think it advisable to keep their fowls confined in as small a space 
as practicable, in order that the warmth may induce them to lay ; in Eng- 
land, on the contrary, a free circulation of air, and abundant space to take 
exercise in, are reckoned absolutely essential for poultry. Both modes 
are, to a certain extent, right ; for warmth, and a close, warm roosting- 
place, will certainly produce most eggs, while air and exercise are necea* 
sary to rear fowls of a superior description for the table. 

Accommodations for Keeping Poultry on a Large Scale. — "Where poultry 
are kept on a large scale, an enclosure, varying from half an acre to an acre 
in extent, is set apart for their use, enclosed either by a wall or by a fence 
of paling, but not by a hedge, as the fowls will get through the latter kind 
of fence, and will, besides, be very troublesome in laying their eggs in the 
hedge. The enclosure should be well drained ; and if it has a stream of 
water running through it, or a pond in the middle, or at one end, it will be 
best. If it has not these conveniences, it should have a pump, with troughs 
for the fowls to drink from, and these troughs should be cleaned every day. 
Part of the yard should be flagged, for feeding the fowls on ; part covered 
with sand or fine gravel, for them to wallow in ; part laid with turf, that the 
fowls may find insects and earthworms, and eat grass when they feel in- 
clined ; and part covered with bricklayer's dust, rubbish, dry mortar, aud 



RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 545 

broken oyster -shells, or other similar materials, rammed down, so that the 
fowls may amuse themselves with pecking and scratching the ground, with- 
out being able to take very much of the limy matters from it at once. Where 
convenient, the feeding and wallowing places should be roofed over ; but the 
rest of the ground should be exposed to the open air. It must be observed, 
that, when fowls are kept in small, confined places, they should always be 
supplied with some kind of limy matter ; as, unless they are, the hens will 
first lay eggs without shells, and after a time will cease to produce any 
eggs at all. In towns, it is, therefore, customary, with the keepers of 
poultry for profit, to mix broken egg-shells with their food, and to give 
them brick partly covered with mortar, from some old building, to peck at. 

Plan of Construction, and General Management. — The poultry-house 
may be built of either brick or lath and plaster, or, as in some places, the 
walls may be of plain boards, — but these generally make the houses too cold. 
An economical poultry-house may be made of wooden posts and rails, with 
the spaces between stuffed with fagots; but brick walls are generally pre- 
ferred to all others, where the expense is not an object. The roof should 
always be close and secure ; and the floor may be of wood, or laid with 
bricks or flag-stones, or it may be covered with a mixture of lime and clay, 
rammed hard. Whatever the material be, the floor of a poultry-house 
Bhould always be a little higher than the level of the yard, to afford facilities 
for keeping it clean. The floor should be swept every day, and washed 
once a week, and the walls of the house should be whitewashed inside every 
spring, and every crevice carefully stopped. The doors are made of wood, 
and should be strong, and be furnished with a lock, to prevent any danger 
of the poultry being stolen at night; and there is generally a square hole cut 
in the door, either at the top or bottom, for the poultry to go to roost. A 
hole at the top of the door is preferable, as it is inaccessible to vermin ; and 
there should be a ladder on the outside, for the fowls to ascend. This ladder 
is composed only of a slanting board, with strips of wood nailed across ; and, 
when the hole in the door is at the bottom, a similar ladder is placed inside 
the house. 

All fowls like to roost high, and they should, therefore, have some rails 
fixed for them near the roof, so arranged that the fowls on the lower rails 
may not be exposed to the droppings from those above. The rails are fre- 
quently only branches, or the trunks of young trees ; but if made of timbers, 
they should be nearly square, with only the corners rounded off; and there 
maybe boxes or baskets against the walls for the fowls to lay in. The best 
kind of nests are said to be those made of wood, baskets being calculated to 
let in the cold air. 

It is well known that fowls, when left to choose a nest for themselves, 
46* 2k 



546 



farmer's hand-book. 



generally fix upon a hedge, where the hen buries herself from observation 
under the branches of the hedge plants, and among the grass. This pecu- 
liarity is taken advantage of by some poulterers, and the laying nests are 
composed of heath or heather, and branches of hawthorn are trained over 
and around them. The following figure represents one of these pleasant 
and comfortable nests, with the hen sitting. 

Fig. 318. 




XII. ARRANGKMENT OF THE FARMERY. 

Situation. — The several buildings of the farm have now been noticed, 
and we now come to consider the manner in which they are to be arranged 
in the farmery. As a whole, it may be considered with reference to its 
situation on the farm ; its extent and character relatively to the size of the 
farm, and to the kind of culture pursued or crops raised; and its position 
relatively to that of the farm-house. 

For the economy of labor, the buildings of the farm should be situated as 
near as possible to the centre of the cultivated grounds ; for most of the 
produce being, in the first place, conveyed to the farm buildings, and the 
manure carried from them to the fields, it is important that the parts of 
the farm should not be so distant from the farmeiy, that time shall be 
wasted by the men and working cattle in traveling. A central situation 
reduces the labor of carting home produce and carting out manure to the 
smallest practicable. 

But although a central situation of the farm buildings is as much as pos- 
sible to be aimed at, it is often necessary or expedient to sacrifice this con- 
venience, in order to secure others. A primary object, for instance, is the 
obtaining of a sufficient command of water for domestic purposes, and the 
use of the live stock ; but this cannot be obtaifted in every situation, and 



RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 547 

convenience of position, therefore, in the buildinors, must often be sacrificed, 
in order to obtain the necessary supplies of water. Sometimes water can 
be procured in sufficient quantity by sinking wells; but it is always better 
that it be obtained by a constant flow or current, that the stock of the farm 
may be supplied at all times without the labor of pumping. 

Kind of Buildings. — The size of the farmery, and the kind of buildings 
which compose it, must necessarily be regulated by the size of the farm, 
and the kind of culture pursued on it. It is to be observed, however, that 
although on the smaller class of farms the same accommodation is not 
required as on those of the larger kind, yet the buildings cannot be reduced in 
proportion to the diminished size of the farm. Small farms, accordingly, 
always require a greater comparative extent of accommodation than large. 
On farms chiefly appropriated to the rearing of stock, comparatively few 
buildings are required ; and these being chiefly sheds for shelter to the 
young cattle, and low sheds with yards for penning sheep when required. 
On a farm situated near a large town, the buildings must always be suited 
to this peculiarity of situation. Here the rearing and feeding of live stock 
may not be carried on at all, and only the raising of vegetable produce for 
sale be attended to. The buildings required on such a farm need be few and 
simple. No feeding and shelter sheds are required, and there is no need for 
that extension of the range of buildings which is necessary on a rearing and 
breeding farm. 

Disposition of the Different Buildings. — The most convenient disposition 
of the out-houses of a farm, suited to a mixed system of tillage and the rear- 
ing and feeding of live stock, is in the form of along rectangle, or a square, 
as the case may be, open at one side, — generally at the south, — so as to 
admit the air to the cattle in the yards, and allow sufficient sunshine to them 
in winter. Sufficient space is to be appropriated to the several buildings and 
yards of the farmery ; for a few square yards more, occupied by the build- 
ings, are of little value, compared with the inconvenience which results 
from having them placed too closely together. 

The farm-house itself sometimes forms part of the rectangle formed by the 
larmery ; but it is better, in most cases, that it should be detached. It should 
be placed on the south or open side of the farm-yard, and some of the win- 
dows in the rear of the house should be so arranged that a full view of the 
proceedings in the yard may be obtained from them. 

In giving designs of the arrangement of the several parts of the idimery, 
little more can be done than to present useful examples. Although a certain 
similarity must exist in the form and arrangement iu the parts of all such 
buildings, yet these, it has been seen, must be modilied according to the 
circumstances of the farm itself, the nature of the soil, the situation with 



548 



FARMER S HAND-BOOK. 



regard to markets, and many other particulars. No rule that can he given is 
of genera] application ; and the judgment of the architect or huilder must he 
exercised in adapting the size, form, and arrangement of the buildings, to 
the nature of the farm and the wants of the occupier. 

In the designs which follow, uniformity has been studied wherever it 
seemed to be practical, without interfering with convenience of arrangement ; 
but when these qualities could not be combined, the preference has been 
given to the latter ; and nothing has been proposed but what has been found, 
from experience, to be useful and practicable. It may be remarked, how- 
ever, that it is quite impossible, especially in the larger class of farm build- 
ings, to get the different apartments arranged so conveniently as could be 
wished, consistent with any degree of regularity. The number of designs 
might be multiplied to any extent, but this is not at all necessary. 

Plan of Buildings for a Farm of One Hundred and Fiftrj Acres. — The 
following is a ground-plan design of a farmery for a farm of one hundred and 
fifty acres arable land. It contains a potato-house, a ; house for storing a 




supply of turnips or grass, b ; two cow-houses, c, c ; calf-house, d ; house for 
mare and foal, e ; straw-barn, f ; dressing-barn, g ; and machinery, h ; gang- 
way, or inclined plane to the corn-loft, i ; horse-course for the threshing- 



RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 



549 



machine, k; cart-shed, l; hay-house, m ; stables, n, n; spare-house, o; 
poultry-house, p ; piggery, q ; aud shelter-sheds, r, r, r ; with yards, r, 
r, r. This plan will afford all the accommodation that could be wished for 
on a farm of the size for which it is intended 

Plan of Buildings for a Small Farm. — The ground plan of the design of 
a farmery for a small farm is shown in the annexed figure. In it are seen 
a court for calves, a ; poultry-house, b, open to the cow-house to partake 

Fig. 320. 




of its heat ; calf-house, c ; cow-house, d ; calf-crib, e ; cart-shed, f ; stable. 
6; barn, h, part of which, i, is to be lofted over; potato-house, k ; piggery, 
L L, and dung-pit, M. 

The Stack-yard. — A situation for the stack-yard should be chosen adjoin- 
ing the barn, and on the most elevated and exposed side of the farmery. 
Its size is regulated by that of the arable part of the farm, and also by the size 
of the barn ; as the stacks are not to be made larger than what could be 
contained at one time by the corn-bay, or end for unthreshed corn ; and, con- 
sequently, a small barn will require a larger slack-yard than a large one. 
The farm, in this case, as in almost every other yard or building of the 
farmery, ought to be rectangular, and as near as may be convenient to that 
of a square. The stacks are to be placed in parallel rows, with a sufficient 
space between them for a cart to pass along, either to unload when building 
the stack, or load when taking the corn to the barn. The stacks are to be 
placed on stands, to keep dry and free from vermin. 

Drainage of a Farmery. — The system of drainage in a farmery is a 
matter of importance, and it ought to be determined on before any part of the 
buildings is commenced. There are three distinct systems of drainage 
which must necessarily exist in every well-arranged farmery. First, it sel- 
dom happens that the site for a farmery is so entirely dry as not to require 



550 fakmer's hand-book. 

some underground drains around and through it, for carrying off the water, 
that either sinks into the soil from the surface and is retained there, or is 
found latent in the subsoil, or from some other cause. Second, the water 
from the roofs of the buildings should be all collected by gutters at the 
eaves, and, if not wanted for a well or tank, it should be conducted directly 
to the underground drains, through air-traps. Third, a liquid manure tank 
is essential for retaining those parts of the manure which would otherwise 
flow out of the yards and be lost ; and with this the drains from the stabks, 
cattle-sheds, and yards, are to communicate. These drains must be neither 
large nor deep ; and they may, in general, be formed of brick or stone, 
with a trap near the opening of each, to prevent the possibility of a current 
of air passing through them, and the offensive effluvia thereby occasioned. 
The manure tank may be of very simple construction, the walls being built 
of stone or brick, — or a large cask may be used. It should be covered at 
the top, and in the covering there is to be a hole through which the end of 
a pump may be inserted. 

XIII. GREEN-HOUSES. 

May he Easily Constructed. — Very handsome structures may be formed 
by adopting the old mode of building. A house with the simple sloping 
roof of wood-work may be made both light and airy, if not graceful, pro- 
vided the moldings of the sashes are made very thin, and the slope of the 
sashes laid at an angle of not less than 35°. Such a slope is, indeed, almost 
indispensable, as, if the angle be less, the laps of the glasses are apt to 
retain water, and cause a drip during rain. 

Materials and Mode of Building. — It is astonishing at how trifling a 
comparative expense a green-house or good glazed pit may be constructed, 
provided there be a tact for works of masonry and carpentry on the part of 
the farmer, or gardener, or florist, who wishes such a structure. A green- 
house, whatever may be its materials and structure, — whether it be curvil 
inear, and of metal or of wood, with a lean-to roof, or glazed on three of its 
sides, so as to conmnand a north, south, and eastern exposure, — ought to be 
at least fifteen feet long, ten or twelve feet high at the back or in the 
centre, and its breadth not less. It should have a brick wall around it, of 
nine inches in thickness, the height of which can only be determined by the 
situation and form of the house ; but it is recommended that the cellular 
mode of laying the bricks be adopted, for a great saving of materials is 
thereby not only insured, but a plate of air is interposed between two brick 
surfaces, which tends to preserve uniformity of temperature, and some 
degree of warmth, within the house. The bricks are laid on edge, two and 
two, forming the front and back of the wall, with a third one, also on edge, 



RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 



551 



crossing the end of each pair. One course being thus finished, the course 
above it is made to break joint with the one below, by laying each pair of 
bricks so as their centres may rest upon the centres of the cross brick on 
edge of the course below it. Bond is thus secured, and a space formed 
between the pairs equal to the difference of the sum of the two bricks on 
edge and the length of the one that crosses the ends of the two. Supposing 
the length of a brick to be nine inches, and its thickness three inches, there 
will be three inches of space left between the bricks. The alternate ranges 
of the brick-work thus constructed will render the wall cellular, and strength 
and lightness will be secured. Fig. 321 is a sketch of a portion of two 
courses of a cellular wall, by which, if the one be supposed to rest upon the 
other, it will be apparent that each joint alternates with the one below it, 
and that the cells range throughout in a sidelong oblique direction. 



Fig. 321. 















2 


« I 












1 


















d 


< 


z 




1 












a 




:b 




1 






1 






1 










1 











In the upper part of the sketch (A), a, a, are two bricks set on edge, 
forming the back and front of the wall c, c ; b, b, are the two bricks also on 
edge, set across the wall at the ends of a, a; d is the space between the 
bricks, three inches in width. The part represented by B is of exactly the 
same construction as A ; and if it were placed on c, c, so as the cross-edge 
brick, e, were placed in the middle between the two cross-edge bricks, b, b, 
then the interior of the wall would be of a cellular structure, all the spaces 
of which would be connected together in a regularly zigzag oblique direc- 
tion to one another. 

Arrangement of the Lights. — The upright lights above the front walls 
ought to swing on their centres, and not be made to slide horizontally, by 
which much rain may be kept out, and the great inconvenience arising from 
the swelling of the wood in the sash-grooves entirely obviated. A stage, 
or set of shelves, is generally required, ranging obliquely upwards, from 
about eighteen inches above the floor towards the back wall, in a direction 
nearly parallel to the slope of the glass roof. Another shelf, eighteen 
inches wide, made of bars or strips of wood, may be placed immediately 
under the swing-lights, against the front wall, for bulbous-rooted plants, 
heaths, &c., the grating formed by the bars securing the roots frum the 



552 farmer's hand-book. 

bad consequences attending an excess of moisture ; since whatever quality 
of water may run through the pots will fall through the spaces between the 
bars, and escape. The walk, in this construction, will pass between thia 
front-sparred shelf and the lower shelf of the stage ; it may also proceed 
along the back wall, in which case the platform of shelves should be cur- 
tailed in breadth, and a shelf or two fixed upon the back wall itself, for 
succulent plants. In houses with double glass roofs, the stage ought to be 
in the centre, ranging in two slopes, corresponding to those of the lights. 

Flues for Heating. — The flues, or hot vater pipes, must be so situated 
as to distribute the heat equally. The circulation of hot water is most 
likely to afford this equal distribution, because the temperature of a stream 
of water flowing from a boiler, and returning to it, in regular but slow pro- 
gression, must be subject to comparatively little variation. Hot water also 
produces a sweet and innoxious heat. Whenever, then, circumstances 
authorize this mode of creating an artificial climate, it ought unquestionably 
to be adopted ; but it requires some one who is somewhat acquainted with 
this species of work, and with the power which radiating surfaces possess 
of regulating the temperature of a given number of cubic feet of air. 

A brick flue, when placed above the floor, being rather an unsightly 
object, it may be advantageously placed under, or rather on a level with, 
the floor. A flue, to command a pretty regular temperature, ought to enter 
at one end of the house, not many inches within the front wall, proceed 
along its whole extent, then take a turn and be brought back about the 
centre of the floor, and finally be carried into a chimney above the back 
wall at the same end of the house, though at an opposite corner, in which 
the fire is situated. The flues are to be so built that air may circulate 
around them ; hence they must be placed in a channel dug in the ground, 
and wholly free from contact with the ground. Exits for the heated air 
must be provided for, either by gratings or by spaces left in the floor. The 
temperature of the air in the green-house will thus be regulated from the 
surface of the floor itself to the roof, without the inconveniences of an 
incommodious mass of projecting brickwork. 

A good flue has been calculated to heat between four and five thousand 
cubic feet of air to a temperature suflicient for the safety of green-house 
plants. Now, supposing the internal dimensions of a house to be as fol- 
lows : height at the back, 12 feet, sloping to 6 feet at the front, the medium 
being 9 feet ; breadth 12 feet, and length 24 feet ; 24 X 12 X 9 will pro- 
duce the sum of 2592 feet, the volume of air to be warmed. If, then, the 
calculation of 5000 feet be correct, there can be no difficulty in supporting 
a sufficient degree of heat in a house of little more than half those dimen- 
sions, by a flue of moderate capacity. This may be attained by building 



RUKAL ARCHITECTURE. 553 

the outside and inside of the first course along- the front wall, with four bricks 
hid flat-wise above each other upon the foundation or base course. These 
four bricks will form the depth and the side of the flue, which, with the 
mortar-joints, will be twelve inches in the clear ; and by setting the other 
side of the flue seven inches apart from the first, there will be a channel of 
eighty-four square inches in the clear, which will be found amply sufficient 
for a flue. The return flue ought to be built of bricks on edge, but not wider 
than the first, and both should be covered with flat stones. To secure the 
full effect of the flue, the fireplace should be sunk one foot, or more, below 
the entrance or mouth of the flue, so as to admit of a rise from the fire to 
the flue. This rise should form the neck of the flue, and be brought to 
assume somewhat the figure of a hopper. Thus, if the fireplace be eighteen 
inches long, twelve inches wide, and as many deep, the neck ought to be so 
contracted as that, at its entrance into the flue, it is not above half the 
breadth of the fireplace, nor more than eight inches in depth. The flame 
of the fuel ought to deliver itself clearly into the flue ; and to do this, the 
neck should not be much more than a foot in length, — the chief causes of 
a bad draught and a smoky chimney arising from the ill-calculated dimen- 
sions or shape of the neck. If the neck be short, and regularly contracted, 
till it be about half the size of the flue into which it enters, rarefication of 
the air will be secured ; and if, with these precautions, a moderate rise be 
provided, the rush of air will be great, which will render the draught secure 
in almost every possible state of the atmosphere. 

The flue being built, its joints rendered air-tight, a space, as was before 
observed, must be left on each side of it, with openings in the pavement 
for the free egress of the heated air. The base of the flue ought not to rest 
on the ground, but upon bricks laid apart, so as to form openings through 
which the air warmed by the bottom of the flue may pass into the channels 
left on both sides. A flue thus constructed, and carefully built, will be so 
efficient that very little fuel need be consumed ; every particle of it will 
have its effect, and the house will be pleasantly heated, without trouble, loss 
of time, or vexatious expenditure. 

XIV. FENCES AND GATES. 
FENCES. 

Different Kinds. — The fences of the farm may consist either of stone 
wall, or of line fence, or of a combination of the line fence and stone wall, 
or of an open ditch, a mound, or a rail. 

Building Stone Wall. — The stone wall may either be formed of stones, 
Duilt without cement, or it may b» built with mortar, like common masonry ; 
but the Jast of these methods is rarely practised with the common fences of a 
47 



554 



farmer's haijd-book. 



farm The cementing of the stones with mortar adds, indeed, to the 
durability of the wall, but then the expense is too great in common cases. 
The wall, therefore, for the ordinary purposes of the farm, may generally be 
built of stones alone, though sometimes with a little mortar merely for 
cementing the capping, and occasionally for pinning or closing the inter- 
stices of the outside. 

Materials. — Tlie materials for building the dry stone wall, as this kind 
of wall is termed, may be of any stones of sufficient durability. Loose 
stones taken from the surface, termed land-stones, answer completely, if 
they be of proper size, and not too much rounded ; but in the latter case 
they present too smooth a surface, and cannot be kept in their places without 
mortar. 

Implements. — The implements to be used in building stone wall are, a 
mason's hammer, a spade or shovel for clearing the ground for a foundation, 
a pick or mattock, and a frame of two upright posts fixed together, so as to 
correspond with a vertical saction of a portion of the wall. The line of the 
intended fence being fixed upon and marked on the ground, the stones for 
building should be brought forward, and laid down on both sides, if possi- 
ble, of the line of fence, but, if not, on one side. Pins being fixed in the 
centre of the space to be occupied by the wall, the workman proceeds thus : 
— He carries his wooden frame to some distance along the line to be built 
upon ; he S3ts it perpendicular, which he is enabled to do by means of 
a plumb-line attached to it, and he fixes it in this position in a simple 
manner, as seen in the figure below. He then fixes another similar frame 
at the place where the wall is to commence ; he stretches two cords 
between these two frames, on the outside, and as these cords correspond 
with the outside of the wall at a given height, he has a guide for building 
it of the required dimensions. After having built one portion, he uses only 
one frame, — the wall itself serving afterwards the part of a frame, — for 

Fig. 322. 




the cords being fixed to both sides of the wall, and then attached to the 
frame which is placed in advance, the workman has, as before, a guide by 
which he proceeds in building. 

Rules to be observed. — The foundation of the wall should be laid on firm 
ground ; and wherever there is not this to build upon, a solid foundation 



RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 



555 



should be made by the spade. In building, the largest and flattest stonea 
should be used for the foundation ; and it is very desirable, if the materials 
used will allow, to place stones at intervals, of sufficient size to lie across 
the breadth of the wall, so as to bind the wall together, and render it 
more secure. 

Advantages of the Stone Wall. — The advantages of the stone wall, as 
compared with the line fence, or hedge, are, that it becomes useful as soon 
as made ; that it can be formed in any situations, irrespective of soil and 
climate ; that it requires no nursing, cleaning, and pruning ; that it is not 
injured or destroyed by the trespasses of animals, and that it occupies little 
room 

GATES. 

Form and Method of Construction. — A necessary part of any kind of 
fence is the gate. The properties of a good gate are that it shall combine 
lightness with necessary strength, so that pxi equal quantity of materials 
shall produce the strongest gate. The kind of gate which best combines 
these conditions is one which consists of horizontal bars, placed at such a 
distance from one another as to prevent the passage of animals, and so con- 
nected as to be firmly bound together. The number of horizontal rails 
should be five, although four may suffice, in low gates. They are mortised 
into two upright bars, which form the ends of the gate. A diagonal bar 
proceeds from the hinder and lower corner of the gate to the upper bar. It 
abuts upon the hinder upright, and on the upper horizontal bar, and is nailed 
to the intervening ones. It may form an angle of about forty^ve degrees 



FiK. 323. 




ahd^ 



with the hinder upright and lower bar, so that it may abut upon the upper 
bar, at some distance from the fore-part of the gate. It forms, in this posi- 
tion, a strut, — in the language of carpentry, — which is better than when 
it forms a tie, according to the common practice ; — that is, when it extends 



556 farmer's hand-book. 

from the upper hinder corner to the lower bar of the gate. These parts 
form the framing of the gate. It is usual, however, to nail two upright 
braces to the gate. These are unnecessary for strength, and add to the 
quantity of materials, and the number of joinings. The length of the gate 
may be nine feet, the height of the upper bar three feet nine inches, and 
the lower bar may be six inches from the ground. Fig. 323 describes a 
gate constructed on these principles : — A and B are the upright bars ; 1,2, 
3, 4, 5, the horizontal bars, mortised into the former ; d, the diagonal strut, 
abutting on the upright bar, B, and on the upper horizontal bar, 1, and nailed 
to the other bars, 2, 3, 4, 5. 

Hanging. — The gate may be hung upon two hinges, or on one hinge, 
— the hilt resting on a stone socket, placed in the ground, as shown in Fig. 
323. This latter construction is somewhat the best for the ordinary gates 
of the farm ; for one of the most common defects of gates is the tendency to 
sink down at the fore-part, and trail on the ground. Now, a gate, when we 
consider its tendency to sink at tne fore-part, may be regarded as a bended 
lever, of which the fulcrum is the lower hinge, the power which prevents 
its sinking the upper hinge, and the weight the centre of gravity of the 
gate. By increasing the distance between the fulcrum and the upper hinge, 
we increase the power of the latter to support the gate ; and this condition 
is fulfilled by placing the heel of the gate on the level of the ground. This 
tendency to trail is also lessened by making the gate lighter before, which is 
effected by giving the several bars a taper from the hinder to the anterior 
part. 

The Hinges. — The hinge of the gate is best formed by causing the upper 
part — which is fixed to the upright bar of the gate — to work in a socket, 
which is fixed to the gate-post. The advantage of making the upper hinge 
work in a socket is, that while space is given to it to turn, it is firmly sup- 
ported in its place, and that the means are afforded of causing it to move 
smoothly, by pouring a little oil into the socket. 

The Latch. — The latch of the gate may be of various forms. The sim- 
plest is a little chain, fixed to the front upright bar, which is fastened to a 
hook in the gate-post. 

Gate-posts. — The gate-posts for the common gates of a farm are better 
formed of wood than a piUar of masonry, — the latter being subject to be 
loosened by carriages striking against it. The posts, if of wood, should be 
well sunk in the ground ; and, as they are apt to decay at the surface of the 
ground, the sunk portion, and a little above it, should be charred. The 
bands of the hinges and latches should pass entirely through the posts, and 
be fixed on the opposite side by screw-nuts. The most durable kind of gate- 



HEDGES. 



557 



post, however, is one of solid stone, which may be advantageously adopted 
where the material can be easily obtained. 

Self-shutting Gate. — It is, in many cases, deemed convenient to have 
a gate which shall shut of itself, when opened. This may be effected by 
simple means. The upper hinge may be of the kind before described ; 
but the gate below must, in place of the hinge, have two points of support, 
so that it shall only be in equilibrio when it rests upon these two points. 

XV. HEDGES. 

General Remarks. — For beauty, economy, and the protection of land 
from intruders of all kinds, whether biped or quadruped, no kind of en- 
closure can equal that furnished by a good hedge. These living walla 
of verdure present a most striking effect, especially where the ground ia 
somewhat rolling, and relieve the monotony of cultivated fields, where 
there are no forests to lend a coloring to the view. Their first cost is 
probably u little more than that of a fence of the ordinary kind ; but 
when once completed, which is usually in about four or five years, the 
expense ceases at once and forever, whereas the wooden fence or stone- 
Fig. 324. 




wall continually require repairs, and occasionally rebuilding. They are 
absolutely impassable, when properly constructed : nothing in the form 
47* 



o58 



FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 



of man, animal, or of the poultry kind, can either get through or go over 
them ; and they form an excellent shelter for cattle during the winter 
season, while ranging the fields for exercise, or to pick up a few mouth- 
fuls of green food. 

Varieties of Hedge Plants. — The principal, and by some asserted to be 
the only plant fit for hedges in the United States, is the osage-orange 
{3faelura-aiiriantica ; illustrated in Fig. 324 as it appears on the farm 
when nicely trimmed), which grows wild in Arkansas and Louisiana, 
It is very full of branches, each of which is armed with numerous sharp 
thorns. The trees are male and female, and the latter bears a round, 
rough and greenish-colored fruit, somewhat like an orange, containing 
about two hundred seeds. The wood is very tough and durable, and the 
trees are very readily raised from seed, which will never fail to vegetate 
in two or three weeks after planting. In the first season the seedlings 
will grow to the height of two or three feet, when they may be set out 
in the hedge rows, where the sets are usually placed from twelve to fif- 
teen inches apart. The great merit of this plant consists inthe man- 
ner in which it spreads its branches, and interlocks them, and in the 
bristling array of spines with which they are armed. It never becomes 
unmanageable on account of its size, and in four or five years will make 
a good fence from the seed. 

The Honey Locust [Gleditschia triacanihos), (Fig. 325), is naturally a 
large tree, beautiful in foliage, but armed with terrific thorns, which are 

Fig. 325. 




sometimes several inches long, of a reddish color, and, at some distance 
from the base, armed with two secondary thorns, about half the size of 
the first. The leaves are pinnated, and composed of small, oval, serrate, 
sessile leaflets, of a very pretty lightish green color. The flowers are 



HEDGES. 559 

pmall, disposed in bunches, and not very conspicuous. Flat, crooked, 
pendulous pods, from twelve to eighteen inches long, contain the seeds, 
which are brown, smooth, hard, and enveloped in a very sweet pulpy 
substance. Its close, impenetrable mass of thorns and spray peculiarly 
adapts it for hedging. 

The Buffalo Berry {Shepardia magnoides), is a peculiar thorny plant, 
found on the Rocky Mountains. It grows upright, and is armed with 
thorns; and the leaves, which are small, have a delicate, silvery appear- 
ance. It is male and female, and bears a fruit which, with a very rich 
taste, combines a fine scarlet color, and has much of the appearance of 
currants, hanging from the branches in similar bunches. Tarts and 
preserves have been made from them, and pronounced excellent. It is 
better adapted to garden than field fences. 

The Buckthorn [lihamnus catharticus), indigenous to the United States, 
as also to Europe and Asia, is a hardy prickly shrub, the bark of which 
is glossy and dark-colored. The leaves are ovate, dentated, with linear 
stipules, and strong lateral nerves: tiie flowers, which are yellowish 
green, give place to a glossy black berry, of the size of a large pepper- 
corn, c(mtaining three or four seeds, enveloped in a violet-red pulp. 
The juice of the unripe berries, boiled with a little alum, makes a 
deep green dye. This shrub is very easily propagated from the seed, 
and is much used as a hedge-plant in many of the Northern and Eastern 
States. 

The Cockspur ( Cratcegvs cru.tgalli), a native of the Middle States, is 
a beautiful plant, having long, deep green, and highly-polished leaves, 
with finely serrated margins. The thorns are very long, slender, and 
tough ; and the fruit, which is of a handsome golden yellow color, hangs 
on the shrub all winter, giving it a beautiful appearance. It forms 
an excellent hedge, and makes a gorgeous display during the winter 
season. 

The Bed Cedar [Jiniipcrtis Virgidiana), is sometimes used for hedges, 
although it is simply an evergreen, and entirely destitute of prickles. 
The wood is very odorous, and the leaves, when bruised, difi"use a resi- 
nous aromatic odor. The seeds are small, ovate berries, bluish when 
ripe, and coated with a whitish exudation. The plant grows readily 
from the s^ed, may be set out in two years, and will furnish a shelter at 
the end of three or four years. It will make a compact wall of verdure 
from the very ground, and bears clipping remarkably well. 

The Cranjero {Celtis ciuerea), a very thorny shrub, growing in West- 
ern Texas among the chapparal, would make an excellent hedge. Ita 
usual height is from six to ten feet, with numerous very rigid branches, 



560 



FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 



armed with short but strong spines. The leaves are about an inch 
long, of an oval shape, and t'ne flowers, which are polygamous, are 
quite small, and in color greenish-white. It bears orange-yellow, oval 
berries, the size of peas. As the plant grows in poor and stony soils, it 
is presumable that it would thrive in almost any situation. 

Fig. 326, 




The Cactus Tuna {Fijo de Inferno), (Fig. 326), and the Cactus Opun- 
tia (Fig. 327), are much used for hedges in Spain, where they are said 



327. 




HEDGES. 581 

to make a fence in two years which lasts for forty, and which, under 
proper management, might be made perennial. It is objected that they 
occupy considerable space, and that the trimmings will retain life and 
grow even on dry ground; but these objections do not apply where land 
is plenty, and lime in abundance, with which to compost the trimmings. 
These plants make an impassable fence, and one which is easily planted 
and kept in order. 

The Mesqnit [Algarohia glandnlosa) often grows into a good-sized tree, 
but can readily be kept within the proper size for a hedge by trimming. 
Its foliage, which is very graceful, is not unlike that of the honey-locust, 
and at the base of each compound leaf a pair of very sharp thorns ia 
usually produced. 

The Zizyphns lycoides grows abundantly throughout Texas and New 
Mexico. It is intricately branclied ; the leaves are oblong and entire ; 
the flowers are small, white, and grow in sessile clusters, giving place to 
round, black, edible, but rather astringent berries ; and the entire plant 
usually attains a height of six or eight feet. 

Emory's Thorn [Holocantha Emoryi) is, like most of the Cactaceae, a 
thorny, leafless plant, growing in bunches, from five to eight feet high, 
and bears tufts of very minute greenish-white flowers, which are suc- 
ceeded by stellate reddish seed-vessels. It consists almost wholly of 
thorns, which are very rigid, and average from two to four inches iu 
length. It is an ugly plant, but would form an impenetrable hedge. 

Planting the Hedge. — If the sod is new, break it up in the fall, and 
in spring plough it, throwing the furrows outward, so as to leave a broad 
furrow in the middle, in the line of the intended hedge. If the ground 
is rough, it must be very thoroughly harrowed at planting time, and 
the earth, thrown into the centre by ploughing from both sides, must 
be allowed to settle for a few days before planting the hedge, to prevent 
subsequent exposure of the roots. As it is requisite, in order to have a 
handsome-looking hedge, to plant the sets in a straight line, the ground 
should be staked off at regular distances, and a cord run from one stake 
to another as a guide. When the plants are ready, they may be set in 
the ground with but little trouble, by inserting a spade to the depth of 
five or six inches, close to the line, pressing it outward, and dropping 
a plant into the hole thus made. The spade may then be withdrawn, 
and inserted a short distance behind its first position, by which the 
ground is pressed forward against the plant, thus fixing it firmly in 
position. Some operators use a trowel, made for the purpose, but with- 
out any positive advantage. "A double row, with the plants alternating, 
is preferable to a bingle-row hedge. In no case should they be planted 

2l 



562 



FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 



nearer than ten inches asunder in the rows, and the rows should be at 
least eight inches apart. Many of the hedge-plants will require to be 
planted at even a greater distance from each other, or they will not 
thrive. 

First Year. — Keep the ground mellow, and clear of weeds. Throw a 
furrow against the plants on each side, and subsequently plough from 
them when weeds and grass spring up. Repeat this operation as often 
as any obnoxious vegetation makes its appearance, and late in the autumn 
plough two heavy furrows against the hedge on each side, to protect the 
roots from the frost. Trim frequently during the summer, keeping the 
shoots down within three or four inches of the ground. They will 
thicken under this treatment, and will stand the winter better than if 
allowed to run up to a height of several feet. 

Second Year. — Replace all the plants which have died, setting them 
carefully, so as to insure their successful growth. Cultivate as during 
the first year. Cut the plants down to the ground in the spring with a 
scythe, and in June trim all the vertical shoots down to four inches, but 
allow the horizontal branches to extend as far as they will. A thick 
growth will follow, and thus will be established a good foundation for 
the future hedge. Protect the plants from the frost by throwing a fur- 
row against them, and leave them until the spring of the 

Third Year. — Trim down the plants to within five inches of the last 
cut, and cultivate as before. The hedge now being very wide, but little 
vegetation will grow beneath it, consequently so much labor will not be 
required in clearing out weeds. Prune again in June, within five inches 
of the spring cutting, and trim the hedge in a pyramidal form, so as to 

Fig. 328. 




give it all the benefit of sun, air, and moisture. Trim again in August, 
leaving six inches more of the new wood, and again in September. Fig. 
328 represents a pair of Hedge-Shears. 

Fourth Year. — The labor of this and all succeeding years will mainly 
consist in keeping the hedge properly trimmed. Preserve the pyra- 



HEDGES. 563 

Diidal form, as upon that depends the permanence of this living barrier; 
and encourage the plants to grow vigorously by the application of some 
well-rotted manure. 

Replanting and Mending. — A ragged and uneven hedge should be cut 
dovrn at once, in the spring, nearly to a level vrith the ground, all the 
stunted plants removed, and their places filled with good plants, which 
must be set with great care. Clip all the hedge, with the exception of 
th« replants, two or three times during each year — thus giving the latter 
a chance to attain a vigorous growth. Their places may be covered by 
training strong shoots into them, and confining them there during the 
growing season. 



CHAPTER XII. 

IIOR'nCULTURAL SCIENTIFIC OPERATIONS. 

THE IMPROVED MODES OF GRAFTING— BUDDING — PRUNING — TRAININOk 

1. GRAFTING. 

Uses of Grafting. — The uses of grafting, in addition to those of all the 
other modes of increasing plants by extension, are, 1. The propagation of 
varieties or species which are not increased freely by any other mode, such 
as pears and other fruit-trees, &c. 2. The acceleration of the fructification 
of plants, more especially of trees and shrubs, which are naturally a number 
of years before they come into flower. For example, a seedling apple, if 
grafted the second year on the extremities of the branches of a full-grown 
apple-tree, or even on a stock or young tree of five or six years' growth, 
will show flowers the third or fourth year ; whereas, had it remained on its 
own roots, it would probably not have come into flower for several years 
longer. 3. To increase the vigor or the hardiness of delicate species or 
varieties, by grafting them on robust stocks. 4. To dwarf or diminish the 
bulk of robust species, — such as grafting the pear on the quince or medlar, 
the apple on the doucin or paradise stock, the cherry on the perfumed 
cherry, &c. 5. To increase the fruitfulness or precocity of trees ; the 
effects produced on the growth and produce of a tree by grafting are similar 
to those which occur when the descent of the sap is impeded by a ligature, 
ir by the destruction of a circle of bark. The disposition in young trees to 
produce and nourish blossom buds and fruit is increased by this apparent 
obstruction of the descending sap ; and the fruit of such young trees ripens 
somewkat earlier than upon other young trees of the same age, which grow 
upon stocks of their own species ; but the growth and vigor of the tree, and 
its power to nourish a succession of heavy crops, are diminished, apparently, 
by the stagnation in tlie branches and stock of a portion of that sap which, 
in a tree growing upon its own stem, or upon a stock of its own species, 
would descend to nourish and promote the extension of the roots. 6. To 
preserve varieties from degenerating, which are found to do so when propa- 
gated by cuttings or layers. 7. By choosing a stock suitable to the soil, to 
produce trees in situations where they could not be grown if on their own 

(564) 



HORTICULTURAL SCIENTIFIC OPERATIONS. 565 

roots. 8. To introduce several kinds on one kind. Thus, one apple or 
pear tree may be made to produce many different kinds. 9. To renew tlie 
heads of trees. Thus, if a fruit-tree is cut down to the ground, or headed 
in to the height of ten or twelve feet, and left to itself, it will develop a 
great number of latent buds, each of which will be contending for the mas- 
tery ; and the strength of the tree, and the most favorable part of the season 
for growth, will be in some degree wasted, before a shoot is singled out to 
take the lead ; but, if a graft is inserted either in the collar or stool, or in 
the amputated head, it will give an immediate direction to the sap, the 
latent buds will not be excited, and the whole concentrated vigor of the tree 
will be exerted in the production of one grand shoot. 

Different Kinds of Grafting. — The different kinds of grafting may be 
classed as, grafting by detached scions or cuttings, which is the most com- 
mon mode ; grafting by attached scions, or, as it is commonly termed, by 
approach or inarching, in which the scion, when put on the stock, is not at 
all, or is only partially, separated from the parent plant; and grafting by 
buds, in which the scion consists of a plate of bark, containing one or more 
buds. The stock on which the scion is placed is, in every case, a rooted 
plant, generally standing in its place in the garden or nursery, but some- 
times, in the case of grafting by detached scions, taken up and kept under 
cover, while the operation is being performed. The two first modes of 
grafting are performed when the sap is rising, in spring ; and budding 
chiefly when it is descending, in July and August. Under particular 
circumstances, however, and with care, grafting in every form may be per- 
formed at any reasonable period of the year. 

Utensils and Materials used in Grafting. — These are, the common knife, for 
heading down stocks ; the chisel ; the grafting-knife and budding-knife ; liga- 
tures of different kinds for tying on the scions, and grafting-clay or grafting-wax 
for covering them. The following cut represents one of the best grafting- 



Fig. 329. 




chisels now in use. The ligatures in common use are strands of bast matting, 
or of other flexible bark ; but sometimes coarse worsted thread is used, or oc- 
casionally shreds of coarse paper, or cotton cloth, covered with grafting-wax. 
When bast mat is used, it may be rendered water-proof by passing it first 
through a solution of white soap, and next through one of alum ; by which 
48 



566 farmer's hand-book. 

a neutral compound is formed, insoluble in water. These prepared shreds, 
before being put on, are softened, by holding them over a small vessel of 
burning charcoal, which the grafter carries with him ; and when grafting- 
wax is employed, instead of grafting-clay, it is kept in an earthen pot, also 
placed over live charcoal, and the composition taken out and laid on with the 
brush. There are compositions, however, which become soft by the heat of 
the hand, or by breathing on them. 

Grafting-clay is prepared by mixing clay of any kind, or clayey loam, 
fresh horse or cow dung, free from litter, in the proportion of three parts in 
oulk of clay to one of dung, and adding a small portion of hay, not, how- 
ever, cut into too short lengths, its use being analogous to that of hair in 
plaster. The whole is thoroughly mixed together, and beaten up with water, 
60 as to be of a suitable consistency and ductility for putting on with the 
hands, and for remaining on, in wet weather and dry weather, without 
cracking. The beating is performed with a beetle or rammer, on a smooth, 
hard floor, under cover, turning over the mass, and adding water, and then 
beating afresh, till it becomes sufficiently softened and ductile. The process 
of beating must be repeated two or three times a day, for several days ; and 
it should be completed from three weeks to a month before the clay is 
wanted, care being taken to preserve it in a moist state, by covering it with 
mats or straw. The grafting-clay used by the French gardeners is composed 
of equal parts of cow-dung, free from litter, and fresh loam, thoroughly 
beaten up and incorporated. 

Grafting-wax is used by many instead of grafting-clay. There are 
various recipes for composing it, but they may all be reduced to two kinds. 
1. Those which, being melted, are laid on the graft, in a fluid and hot state, 
with a brush. 2. Those which are previously spread on pieces of coarse 
cotton, or brown paper, and afterwards wrapped round the grafter in the 
same manner as strands of matting. The common composition for the first 
kind is one pound of cow-dung, half a pound of pitch, and half a pound of 
yellow wax, boiled up together, and heated, when wanted, in a small earthen 
pot. For the second kind, equal parts of turpentine, bees- wax, and resin, are 
melted together. 

Grafting by Detached Scions. — This is the most common mode, and it is 
that most generally used for kernel-fruits, and the hardier forest-trees. The 
time for grafting hardy trees and shrubs by detached scions in England is 
generally in spring, when the sap is rising ; but the vine, if grafted before it 
is in leaf, suffers from bleeding. In this country, grafting is frequently 
performed in the winter time on roots or stocks which have been preserved 
in sheds or cellars ; and the scion being put on and tied and ciayed over, the 
grafted stock is kept till the spring, and then taken out and planted. Plants 



HORTICULTURAL SCIENTIFIC OPERATIONS. 567 

under glass may be grafted at almost any period ; and herbaceous grafting, 
when and wherever performed, can, of course, only succeed when the shoots 
of the scion and stock are in a succulent or herbaceous state. In all the 
different modes of grafting by detached scions, success is rendered more 
certain when the sap of the stock is in a more advanced and vigorous state 
than that of the scion ; for which purpose the scions are generally taken off 
in autumn, and their vegetation retarded by keeping them in a shady place 
till spring ; and the stock is cut over a little above the part where the scion 
is to be put on, a week or two before grafting takes place. The manual 
precautions necessary to success are — to fit the scion to the stock in such a 
manner that the union of their inner barks, and consequently of their albur- 
nums {sap) , may be as close as possible ; to cut the scion in such a manner 
as that there shall be a bud or joint at its lower extremity, and the stock so 
that there shall be a bud or joint at its upper extremity ; to maintain the 
scion and the stock in the proper position for growth, and in close contact, 
by a bandage of narrow shreds of malting or cloth ; to exclude the air by a 
covering: of clay or grafting-wax, and, in addition, when tlie graft is close 
to the surface of the ground, by earthing it up with soil, and when the scion 
is making its shoot, to tie it to a prop, if necessary ; to remove the clay or 
grafting-wax, when the scion has made several leaves ; to remove the 
bandage by degrees, when it appears to be no longer necessary ; and to cut 
off the heel on the upper part of the stock at the proper time, so as that it 
may, if possible, be healed over the same season. The modes of grafting 
detached scions adapted for general use are — splice or whip grafting, cleft 
grafting, rind grafting, saddle grafting, side grafting, root grafting and 
herbaceous grafting. 

Splice Grafting. — Splice, tongue, or whip grafting, is the mode most 
commonly adopted in all gardens where the stocks are not much larger in 
diameter than the scion ; and it has the advantage of being more expedi- 
tiously performed than any of the other modes described. The stock is first 
cut over at the height at which the scion is to be put on, a (Fig. 330), and 
a thin slice of the bark and wood is then cut off with a very sharp knife, so 
as to leave a perfectly smooth, even surface, b; the scion, which should at 
least have three buds, and need never have more than five (the top one for a 
leading shoot, the next two for side shoots, in the case of fruit-trees, and the 
lower two to aid in uniting the scion to the stock), is next cut, so as to fit 
the prepared part of the stock as accurately as possible, at least on one side ; 
then a slit or tongue, as it is technically termed, is made on the scion, and a 
corresponding one in the stock, c. All being prepared, the scion is applied 
to the stock, inserting the tongue of the one into the slit of the other, c; then 
the scion is tied on with matting, d; and lastly it is clayed over, e; and 



568 



farmer's hand-book. 



sometimes, in addition, it is earthed up, or covered with moss, to serve as a 
non-conductor of heat and moisture. In earthing up the graft, the loose 

Fig. 330. 




surface soil should be used at the grafting season, as being drier and warmer 
than that which is less under the immediate influence of the sun. When the 
scion is placed on the stock with the right hand, the ribbon of bast, by which 
it is tied, is brought round the graft from right to left ; but when the scion 
is put on by the left hand, the bast is brought round from left to right ; the 
object in both cases being to make sure of the exact coincidence of the inner 
bark of one side of the scion with the inner bark of one side of the stock. 
The ball of clay which envelops the graft should be about an inch thick on 
every side, and should extend for nearly an inch below the bottom of the 
graft, to more than an inch over the top of the stock, compressing and 
finishing the whole into a kind of oval or egg-shape form, closing it in every 
part, so as completely to exclude air, light, wet or cold. The ball of clay 
will not be so apt to drop off, if the matting over which it is placed is ren- 
dered a fitting nucleus for solid clay, by previously smearing it over in a 
comparatively liquid state. This envelope of clay, with the earthing up, 
preserves the graft in a uniform temperature, and prevents the rising of the 
sap from being checked by cold days or nights ; and, therefore, earthing up 
ought always to be adopted, in the case of grafts in the open garden, which 
are diflicult to succeed. When the scion and the stock are both of the same 
thickness, or when they are of kinds which do not unite freely, the tongue 
is sometimes omitted ; but in that case more care is required in tying. In 
this, and also in other cases, the stock is not shortened down to the graft, 
but an inch or two, with a bud at its upper extremity, is left to insure the 
rising of the sap to the scion ; and after the latter is firmly established, the 
part of the stock left is cut off close above the scion. When the stock is not 



HORTICULTURAL SCIENTIFIC OPKRATIONS. 569 

neaded down till the scion is about to be put on, it is essentially necessary 
to leave it longer than usual, in order to give vent to the rising sap, which 
might otherwise exude about the scion, and occasion its decay. 

Splice Grafting the Peach, Nectarine, Apricot, c^c. — In splice grafting the 
shoots of peaches, nectarines, and apricots, and other tender shoots with 
large pith, it is found of advantage to have a quarter of an inch of two-years- 
old wood at the lower extremity of the scion, and to have the stock cut 
with a dove-tail notch. In the case of the fruit-trees mentioned, the buds of 
the scion on the back and front are removed, leaving two on each side, and a 
leader ; and when these have grown six or eight inches, their extremities 
are pinched off with the finger and thumb, by which means each shoot will 
throw out two others, and thus produce in autumn a finely-shaped tree, with 
ten branches. Such trees will bear two or three fruits the second year from 
the graft. 

Cleft Grafting. — This requires less care than splice grafting, and is 
chiefly adopted when the scion is a good deal larger than the stock, and 
more especially when grafting stocks of considerable height, or heading 
down old trees. The head of the stock being cut over horizontally with a 
saw, a cleft is made in it, from two to three inches in length, with a stout 
knife or chisel, or with the splitting-knife. The cleft being kept open by 
the knife or chisel, or the pick end of the splitting-knife, one or two scions 
are inserted, according to the diameter of the stock ; the scions being cut 
into long wedge-shapes, in a double sense, and inserted into the slit prepared 
for them, when the knife or chisel being withdrawn, the stock closes firmly 
upon the scions, and holds them fast. The graft is then tied and clayed in 
the usual manner, and the whole is frequently covered with moss, or some 
similar substance. When the stock is an inch or more in diameter, three 
or more scions are frequently put on at equal distances from each other 
round the circumference, and this is called crown grafting. Cleft grafting 
with one scion is in general not a good mode, because, if the split has been 
made right through the stiwk, it is in danger of being injured by the weather 
before it is covered with wood by the scion. If the cleft is made only on 
one side of the stock, the evil is mitigated ; but there still remains the ten- 
dency of the scion in its growth to protrude the wood all on one side. In 
crown grafting headed-down old trees, the scion is generally chosen of two- 
years-old wood, and it is sometimes inserted between the inner bark and the 
alburnum, as in what is called — 

Rind Grafting. — In this, great care must be taken to open the bark of 
the stock, without bruising it, which is done by the spatula end of the graft- 
ing-knife. The scion is prepared without a tongue, and niserted so that ita 
wood may be in contact with the sap of the stock. As in this case both 
48* 



570 farmer's hand-book. 

edges of the alburnum of the scion come in close contact with the alburnum 
of the stock, the chances of success, other circumstances being alike, are 
increased. In cases of this kind, also, a longitudinal notch is sometimes cut 
out, instead of a slit, and the scion cut to correspond. Sometimes, also, the 
Bcion is prepared with a shoulder, more especially when it consists of two- 
years-old wood ; and this mode is termed shoulder grafting. 

Cleft Grafting the Vine. — This operation is shown in the annexed cut, 
in which a is a bud on the scion, and b one on the stock, both in the most 

Fig. 331. 




favorable positions for success. The graft is tied and clayed in the usual 
manner, excepting that only a small hole is left in the clay opposite the eye 
of the scion, for its development. In grafting the vine in this manner, 
when the bud b on the stock is developed, it is allowed to grow for ten or 
fourteen days, after which it is cut off, leaving only one bud and one leaf 
near its base to draw up sap to the scion till it be fairly united to the stock. 
The time of grafting is when the stock is about to break into leaf, or when 
they have made shoots with four or five leaves. By this time the sap has 
begun to flow freely, so that there is no danger of the stock suffering from 
bleeding; though, if vines are in good health, and their wood thoroughly 
ripened, all the bleeding that usually takes place does little injury. 

Saddle Grafting. — This is only applicable to stocks of moderate size, 
but it is well adapted for standard fruit-trees. The top of the stock is cut 
into a wedge-shape, and the scion is split up the middle, and placed astride 
on it, the inner barks being made to join on one side of the stock, as in cleft 
grafting. The tying, claying, &c., are of course performed in the usual 
manner. 

Side Grafting. — This is nothing more than splice grafting performed on 
the side of a stock, the head of which is not cut off. It is sometimes prac- 
tised on fruit-trees to supply a branch in a vacancy, or for the sake of havin^f 



HORTICULTURAL SCIENTIFIC OPERATIONS. 571 

different kinds of fruits on the same tree ; but it is better for the latter pur- 
pose to graft on the side-branches, because, in consequence of the flow of the 
sap not being interrupted by being headed down, the success of this kind of 
grafting is more uncertain than almost any other mode. In grafting the 
lateral branches of fruit-trees, it is always desirable, in order to insure suc- 
cess, to have corresponding buds in the scion and the stock. 

Wedge Grafting. — This is simply a modification of side grafting. 

Root Grafting. — Root grafting is merely the union of a scion to a root, 
instead of to a stem. It is sometimes practised in nurseries, by grafting the 
apple and the pear on the roots of thorns, tree pasonieson herbaceous peeonies, 
&c. 

Herbaceous Grafting. — This is applicable either to the solid parts of 
herbaceous plants, or to the branches of ligneous or woody plants, when 
they are in an herbaceous state. By this method the melon has been grafted 
on the cucumber, the tomato on the common potato, the cauliflower on the 
broccoli and the borecole, &c. To do this, choose a vigorous part of a 
shoot having a well-developed leaf. In the axil of this leaf an oblique cut 
is made, of half its thickness. The point of a melon shoot, so far developed 
as to have its fruit quite formed, is then cut off, and pointed at its end, two 
inches below the fruit. It is inserted in the cleft made in the stock, always 
taking care to spare the leaf until the scion has taken. The remaining part 
of the operation is performed with ligatures and grafting-wax. ^ 

Grafting by Approach, or Inarching. — This differs from grafting by 
detached scions, in the scion or shoot not being separated from the plant to 
which it belongs, and by which it is nourished, till a union takes place. For 
this purpose, it is necessary that the two plants which are to form the scion 
and stock be planted, or, if in pots, placed adjoining each other, so that a 
branch of the one may be easily brought into close contact with the stem, or 
with a branch, of the other. A disk of bark and alburnum is then removed 
from each at the intended point of union, and the parts heing properly fitted 
to each other, so as the inner barks of the respective subjects may coincide, 
as in the case of grafting by detached scions, they are bandaged and covered 
with clay or grafting-wax. This being done, in a short time, in con- 
sequence of the development of the secretion called cambium, tlie alburnum 
of the scion and that of the stock become united, and the scion may be cut 
off below the point where it is united with the stock, leaving the former to 
be nourished only by ihe latter. 

The principal use of grafting by approach is to propagate plants of rarity 
and value which it is found difficult to increase by any other means, and of 
which it is not desirable to risk the loss of any part, by attempting an in- 
crease by means of detached scions or cuttings. 



572 farmer's hand-book. 

ii. budding. 

Uses of Budding. — Budding, or grafting by detached buds, consists in 
transferring a portion of bark containing one or more buds, and forming the 
scion, to the wood of another plant, forming the stock, a portion of the bark 
of the stock being raised up or taken off to receive the scion. The buds of 
trees are originated in the young shoots in the axils of the leaves, and when 
the bud begins to grow, its connection with the marrow sheath ceases ; or, 
at all events, the bud, if detached and properly placed on the alburnum of 
another plant, will become vitally united to it. On these facts the art of 
budding is founded. 

This mode of grafting is chiefly applicable to woody vegetation, and the 
scion may, in general, be secured to the stock, and sufficiently protected 
there, by bandages of bast mat, or thread, without the use of grafting-clay 
or wax. The union between the scion and the stock takes place, in the first 
instance, in consequence of the exudation of organizable matter from the soft 
wood of the slock ; and it is rendered permanent by the returning sap from 
the leaves of the stock, or from those of the shoot made by the bud. All 
the different modes of budding maybe reduced to two; — shield buddings 
in which the scion is a piece of bark, commonly in the shape of a shield, 
containing a single bud, — and flute budding, in which the scion consists of 
a ring or tube of bark, containing several buds. In both modes, the bark of 
one year is chosen in preference ; and the operation is more certain of suc- 
cess when the bud of the scion is placed exactly over the situation of a bud 
on the stock. The shield may, however, be placed on the internodes, or a 
piece of bark without buds may be put on as a scion, and yet a vital union 
may take place between the parts, because the marrow rays exist every- 
where in the wood, and it is by them, during the process of organization, 
that the layer of wood of one year, in a growing state, is joined to that of the 
year before. When the bud is placed on the stock, its point is almost 
always made to turn upwards, as being its natural position ; but, in budding 
trees which are liable to gum, the bud is made to point downwards. There 
are two seasons at which budding is practised, namely, when the sap rises 
in spring ; when the bud inserted is developed immediately, in the same 
manner as in detached ligneous scions ; and in the end of summer, when 
the sap is descending, the operation being then performed with a bud formed 
during the preceding summer, which does not develop itself till the follow- 
ing spring. In budding, the stock is not generally cut over in the first 
instance, as in grafting by detached ligneous scions, but a tight ligature '\a 
frequently placed above the graft, with the intention of forcing a part of the 
ascending sap to nourish the graft. 



HORTICULTURAL SCIENTIFIC OPERATIONS. 573 

The uses of budding, in addition to those of the other modes of grafting-, 
are, also, to propagate some kinds with which the other modes of grafting 
are not so successful ; to perform the operation of grafting with greater 
rapidity than with detached scions, or inarching, as in the case of most fiuit- 
trees, to unite early vegetating trees with late vegetating ones, — ap the 
apricot with the plum, they being both in the same degree of vegetation 
during the budding season ; to graft without the risk of injuring the stock 
in case of want of success, as in side budding, and in flute budding, without 
heading down ; to introduce a number of species or varieties on the same 
stem, which could not be done by any other mode of grafting without dis- 
figuring the stock, in the event of the want of success ; to prove the blossoms 
or fruits of any tree, in which case blossom-buds are chosen instead of leaf- 
buds ; and finally, as the easiest mode of distributing a great many kinds 
on the branches of a tree, as in the case of roses, camellias, and fruit-trees. 

Performing the Operation. — In performing the operation, mild, cloudy 
weather should be chosen, because, during hot, dry, windy weather, the 
viscous surfaces exposed to the air are speedily dried by evaporation, by 
which the healing operation is retarded ; besides, the bark never rises so 
well as it does in weather which is still, warm, and cloudy, but without 
rain. The first step is to ascertain that the bark of the scion and that of the 
stock will separate freely from the wood beneath them ; then procure the 
cutting from which the shields or tubes of bark are to be taken. If the 
budding is to be performed in spring, the cuttings from which the buds are 
to be taken should be cut — always using the proper kind of knife — from 
the tree the preceding autumn, and kept through the winter, by burying 
their lower ends in the ground, in a cool, shady situation, as in the case of 
grafting by detached scions. When these cuttings are to be used, their 
lower ends should be placed in water, to keep them fresh while the opera- 
tion of cutting shields or rings from them is going on. If, on the other 
hand, the budding is to be performed in summer, then the cutting from 
which the buds are to be taken is not to be cut off' the parent tree till just 
before the operation is to be performed. The cutting should be a shoot of 
the current year's wood, which has done growing, or nearly so, and its 
leaves should be cut off", to prevent the waste of sap by evaporation, as soon 
as it is taken from the tree ; the end of the cutting should then be put in 
water to keep it fresh, and the buds taken oif as wanted. When the leaves 
are cut off", care should be taken to leave part of the petiole of each, to 
handle the shield or ring by when putting it on the stock. A slit is next 
made in the stock, or a ring of bark taken off"; and the shield or ring from 
the cutting, containing a bud or buds which are ripe or nearly so, is intro- 
duced in the manner which will presently be described. Tying the bud on 



5T4 farmer's hand-book. 

the stock generally completes the operation, though sometimes grafting wax 
is empjoyed to cover the junction of the shield or ring. 

Transmitting Scions. — Scions for budding may be sent a considerable 
distance by letter, if the leaves are cut off and the scion closely wrapped up 
in oiled paper, or coated over with mastic. They may also be left for 
several weeks, by immersing them in honey. When bulk is not an objec- 
tion, they may be packed up in long grass, or in moist moss, or in several 
folds of moistened brown paper, and covered with drawn wheat-straw, to 
serve as a non-conductor of heat and moisture. 

Wax for Budding. — Prepared wax for budding may be composed of 
turpentine, bees-wax, resin, and a little tallow, melted together. It may 
be put on in the same manner as grafting-clay, but should not be more than 
a quarter of an inch in thickness ; or it may be very thinly spread on cotton 
cloth, and used in shreds, like sticking-plaster. In this last state, it serves 
both as a ligature for retaining the scion in its place, and as a covering for 
excluding the air. In very delicate budding or grafting, fine moss or cotton 
wool is frequently used as a substitute for grafting-clay or grafting-wax, 
the moss or cotton being tied firmly on with coarse thread or fine strands of 
bast matting. Plastic wax, or grafting-wax, which the heat of the hand, 
or breathing on, will render sufficiently soft for use, is thus prepared: — 
take common sealing-wax, — of any color, except green, — one part ; mut- 
ton fat, one part ; white wax, one part ; and honey, one eighth of a part. 
The white wax and the fat are to be first melted, and then the sealing-wax 
is to be added gradually, in small pieces, — the mixture being kept con- 
stantly stirred ; — and lastly, the honey must be put in just before taking it 
off" the fire. It should be poured hot into paper or tin moulds, and kept 
slightly agitated till it begins to congeal. 

Shield Budding. — This is about the only mode in use in British 
nurseries, where it is generally performed in July or August. A cross cut 
and slit are made in the stock, in the form of the letter T, and if possible 
through a bud. (Fig. 332, a.) From a shoot of the present year deprived of 
its leaves, a slice of bark and wood, containing a bud, b, is then cut out, and 
the wood is removed from the slice by the point of the knife. This is done 
by holding the shield by the remains of the leaf, with one hand, and enter- 
ing the point of the knife at the under extremity of the shield, and between 
it and the thumb ; and then raising and drawing out the wood by a double 
motion outwards from the bark, and downwards from the upper to the lower 
extremity of the shield. The bud being now prepared, as at c, the bark on 
each side of the slit in the stock is raised up by the spatula end of the 
budding-knife, and the shield inserted beneath it ; its upper part being cut 
straight across, as at d. so as to admit of its joining accurately with the 



HORTICULTURAL SCIENTIFIC OPERATIONS. 



575 



inner bark of the stock, as at e, so as to receive its descending sap. A 
bandage cf soft matting is now applied, so as to exclude the air from the 
wounded parts, and to show only the bud and the petiole, as at /, and the 




operation is complete. At /, the bud is shown developing its leaves, and 
at g it has produced a shoot of some length, which is tied for a short time 
to the upper part of the stock ; but that part of the latter which is shown by 
dotted lines is cut off in July. 

The portion of wood left attached to the base of the bud should generally 
be about a third of the length of the shield ; the latter being from an inch to 
an inch and a half in length, and the eye should be situated about a third 
from the top. Spines, prickles, and leaves should be carefully cut off, or 
shortened. Sometimes, in taking out the splinter of wood from the scion, 
which is done with a quick, jerking motion, the base of the bud, which is 
woody, is torn out also, leaving a small cavity, instead of an even surface ; 
the surface, when the bud is in a proper state, being either quite even, or 
only gently raised above the surrounding bark, in consequence of the woody 
base of the bud being left in. When this latter has been torn out, so as to 
leave a cavity, it is safest not to use the bud, but to prepare another ; 
though, when the cavity left is not very deep, and a small portion of wood 
is seen in it, the bud will sometimes grow. Only those buds must be taken 
from the scion that are nearly mature, which is readily known both by the 
size of the bud and by the full expansion and firm texture of the disk of the 
leaf, in the axil of which it grows. 

Shield Budding without a Bud or Eye. — This is used simply to cover q 
wound or blemish in one tree by a portion of the live bark of another. 

Circular Shield Budding. — Budding with a circular shield, witli a portion 
of wood attached, is employed to equalize the flower-buds over a tree, by 



576 farmer's hand-book. 

removing some from places where there are too many to other places in 
which there are too few. With the point of a penknife, in spring, cut a 
email cone of bark and wood containing a bud, and insert it in an orifice 
made in the same manner, securing the edges with grafting-wax. Budding 
with a shield stamped out hy a punch is considered excellent for budding old 
trees, the thick and rugged bark of which is not suitable for being taken 
off with the budding-knife. With a mallet the punch is driven through the 
bark of the scion, and then through that of the stock, and the piece which 
comes out of the former is inserted in the cavity formed by the piece taken 
out of the latter. Shield budding with a terminal bud is supposed to produce 
a more vigorous shoot than when a lateral eye is used, and it is, therefore, 
recommended for supplying a leader to a shoot that has lost one. 

Flute Budding. — There are several modifications of this mode of budding, 
which is a good deal used, in some countries, for trees that are difficult to 
Lake, — such as the walnut and the chestnut, — and for several oaks, as 
well as for the white mulberry. 

Annular Budding. — This is performed either at the principal movement 
of the sap in spring, or at the end of its principal movement in August. In 
either case, the top of the stock is kept on ; and if the ring of bark contain- 
ing a bud or buds taken from the scion is larger than the space prepared for 
it on the stock, a piece must be taken from it longitudinally, so as to make 
it fit exactly. 

After-care. — The after-care of grafts by budding consists, in all cases, in 
removing the bandages or plasters as soon as it is ascertained that the buds 
or scions have adhered to the stock. This may generally be known in two 
or three weeks, by the healthy appearance of the bark and its bud or buds, 
and by the dropping off of the petiole, which, in the case of the bud, withers 
and adheres. The next operation is to head down the stock to within an 
inch or two of the bud, — the stump being left for a week or two as a prop, 
to which the shoot produced by the bud of the scion may be tied, till it 
acquires vigor enough to support itself. The stump is then cut off in a 
sloping direction, close above the bud. In general, any buds which develop 
themselves on this stump should be rubbed off; but in the case of very weak 
scions, one or more buds may be left on the stump, to draw up the sap till 
the graft has taken. When budding is performed in spring, the stock 
should have been headed down before the ascent of the sap ; but in autumn 
budding, as no shoot is produced till the spring following, heading down is 
deferred till that season, and takes place just before the sap is in motion. 
Where a number of grafts by buds are introduced on one stem or on one 
branch, heading down can, of course, only take place above the uppermost 



HORTICULTURAL SCIENTIFIC OPERATIONS. 5Y7 

bad ; and m terminal flute budding, it is performed as a necessary part of 
the operation. 

III. PRUNING. 

Uses of Pruning. — Pruning- consists in depriving a plant of a portion 
of its branches, buds, leaves, bark, or roots, in order to produce particular 
effects on the part of the plant which remains. The diiferent kinds of 
pruning may be included under knife-pruning, which is applied to small 
branches ; lopping, which is applied to large branches ; clipping, which is 
applied to small shoots in masses ; and disbudding, disleafing, and disbark- 
ing, which are applied to buds, leaves and bark. Girdling and felling may 
also be included. The instruments necessary for these operations are 
chiefly the pruning-knife, the bill, the saw, the cutting-shears, and the clip- 
ping-shears ; but there are some other instruments, such as the pruning- 
chisel, the girdling-machine, &c., which are occasionally used for peculiar 
purposes. The approved pattern of pruning chisels is seen in the follow- 
ing cut. 

Fig. 333. 



Pruning Forest-trees. — In forest-trees pruning is of the greatest use in 
modifying the quantity of timber produced. Thus, by commencing when 
the tree is quite young, and shortening the side-branches and encouraging 
the leading shoot, the whole of the timber produced is thrown into the main 
stem. On the other hand, should crooked timber be desired, pruning by 
destroying the leading shoot, and encouraging those that have a suitable 
direction, tend to attain the end in view ; and, by the aid of training, this 
end can be completely effected. Trees which are stunted in their growth, 
from being hide-bound (a disease which is brought on by the sudden exposure 
of the trees to the weather after they have been drawn up by shelter, and, 
in the case of young trees, by being planted of too large a size in proportion 
to their roots) , may in general be made to shoot vigorously by being cut 
down or headed in. Again, trees which are in particular situations, where 
it is feared they will grow too large, may be arrested in their growth, or 
stunted, by amputating the larger roots. 

Pruning Ornamental Trees. — This is chiefly employed to remove dis- 
eased branches, because much of the effect of these trees depends on the 
development of their natural form and character. 

Pruning Ornamental Shrubs. — Those which are grown for their flowera 
produce them of much stronger and brighter colors when the shoots are 
49 2 m 



578 



farmer's hand-book. 



thinned out, or shortened, or hoth ; and it is useful when the plants are 
prevented from exhausting themselves by the removal of decaying blossoms, 
BO as to prevent them from maturing their seeds. A pair of pruning-sci»> 
sors are useful in case of rose-bushes, &c. 



Fior. 334 




Pruning Fruit-trees and Shrubs. — These, above all other plants, are 
benefited by pruning, which is indeed by far the most important part of 
their culture. The most general object of pruning is to create an abundant 
supply of sap during summer, by the production of leaf-shoots, by which the 
general strength of the tree is augmented, and to limit the distribution of 
this sap when it ascends from the roots in the following spring, by dimin- 
ishing the number of buds. The effect of this is to increase the vigor of 




the shoots or fruits produced by these buds ; and if this be done in such a 
manner as to obtain also the greatest advantages from light and air, the 
pruning will have answered its purpose. If a ^ruit-tree were not deprived 
every year of a part of the wood or the buds which it produces, its shoots- 
and fruits would gradually diminish in size, and though the fruit would be 



HORTICULTURAL SCIENTIFIC OPERATIONS. 5*19 

more numerous, it would be deficient in succulence and flavor, as is found 
to be the case in old neglected orchard-trees. The application of pruning 
to fruit-trees differs so much, according to the species of tree, that the sub- 
ject can only be properly treated by taking each class separately. Thus 
kernel-fruits, which are produced on wood of two or more years' growth, 
require to be pruned in a different manner from such fruits as the peach, 
which is produced from the shoots of the current year. The production of 
blossoms, or the enlargement of fruits and the acceleration of their maturity 
by ringing, is a species of pruning peculiarly applicable to fruit-trees. In 
pruning high branches, an instrument called an avarrancator — pole pruning 
shears — is found to be very convenient. See Fig. 339. 



Fig. 339. 




Pruning Herbaceous Plants. — To herbaceous plants pruning is appli- 
cable, not only when they are being transplanted, when both roots and top 
are frequently cut in, but also to fruit-bearing kinds, such as the melon 
tribe, the tomato, &c. It is even useful to the cabbage tribe, when it ia 
wished that, after the head is cut off, the stem should throw out sprouts, 
which is found to be accelerated by splitting it down an inch or two. The 
topping of beans, and the picking off of potato-blossoms, are operations 
belonging to pruning, as are the cutting off of withered flowers for the 
sake of neatness, &c. 

DIFFERENT KINDS OF PRUNING. 

These may be included under close pruning, shortening-in, fore-shorten- 
ing, spurring-in, heading-in, lopping, snag-lopping, lopping-in, stopping, 
pinching-out, disbarking, disbudding, disleafing, slitting, bruising or tear- 
ing, root-pruning, girdling, and felling. 

Close Pruning. — This consists in cutting off shoots close to the branch 
or stem from whence they spring, leaving as small a section as possible, in 
order that it may be speedily healed over. In performing the operation, 
care should be taken to make the wounded section no larger than the base 
of the shoot, in order that it may be healed over as quickly as possible ; and 
at the same time to make it no smaller, because this would leave latent 
buds, which would be liable to be developed, and thus occasion the operation 



580 farmer's hand-book. 

to be performed a second time. This mode of pruning is only adopted 
where the object is to produce stems or trunks clear of branches, or of any 
kind of protuberance, as in the case of standard trees in gardens, especially 
fruit-trees, and in the case of forest-trees grown for their timber. If the 
branch cut off is under an inch in diameter, the wound will generally heal 
over in two seasons, and in this case the timber sustains no practical injury ; 
but if it is larger, it will probably begin to decay in the centre, and thua 
occasion a blemish in the timber. 

SJiortcning-in. — This term is applied when side-shoots are shortened at 
the distance of from two to four or five feet from the stem, the cut being 
always made to a bud. Exceeding that distance, it is called fore-shortening, 
and is chiefly applicable to timber-trees in hedge-rows ; and under that dis- 
tance it is called spurring-in. In the culture of fruit-trees, it is applied in 
connection with spurring-in, to produce trees of conical forms, with branches 
which, never being allowed to attain a timber size, are prolific in fruit-bear- 
ing spurs. Whenever the branches exceed two inches in diameter, they are 
cut off within an inch of the stem, and one of the young shoots which are 
produced there is trained to take its place. 

Fore-shortening. — When the lateral branches of a standard tree extend 
further than is desirable, a portion of their extremities is cut off; the cut 
being always made close above a branch of sufficient thickness to form a 
leader of sufficient strength to keep the branch alive and healthy, but not so 
strong as to cause it to produce much timber, or in any way to come into 
competition with the trunk of the tree. Tlie object is to prevent the lateral 
branches of the trees from injuriously shading the plants under them ; and 
hence it is chiefly used in the case of trees in hedge-rows. 

Spurring-in. — The apple, the pear, the cherry, the plum, and other 
fruit-trees, or fruit-shrubs, produce what are called spurs, or very short 
shoots or knobs, covered with blossom-buds, naturally ; and the object of 
spurring-in pruning is to produce these knobs artificially. This can only 
be done with lateral shoots, to which the sap is not impelled with the same 
vigor as to the growing point, because the great object in producing spurs 
is to obtain blossom-buds, and these are never produced on the most vigor- 
ous shoots. A lateral shoot of the present year being produced, may be 
shortened to two or three visible buds, either in the beginning of summer, 
after that shoot has grown a few inches in length, or in the following 
winter ; but the former is in general the better season, because it is not 
desirable to encourage the production of wood, and, consequently, of sap, 
but rather to lessen their production, so as to produce stunted branches, 
which are, in fact, the spurs. The second and third years the shoots pro- 
duced are shortened in the same manner a* tiiey were the first, and it will 



HORTICULTITRAL SCIENTIFIC OPERATIONS. 



581 



generally be found that the leaf-buds left on the lower ends of the shoots, 
when cut down, will the year after become blossom-buds. As by the pro- 
cess of continually shortening the shoots the spurs in a few years become 
inconveniently large, they are, from time to time, cut out, and new spurs 
formed by the same process as before ; and finally, after a certain time, the 
entire branch bearing the spurs is cut out close to the main stem of the tree 
and renewed, as spurs are, by a young shoot produced from its base. It 
must be confessed, however, that pruning has but little to do with the 
production of spurs that are prolific in blossoms ; that depends far more on 
adjusting the nourishment supplied by the root to the demands of the fruit- 
bearing branches, to the mode of training, the kind of tree, and other par- 
ticulars, which, when attended to, spurs are produced naturally. 

Heading-in. — This is cutting off all the branches which form the head 
of a tree close to the top of the stem, leaving, however, their base to pro- 
duce buds. This is done with what are called polled or pollard trees peri- 
odically, for the sake of the branches produced as fagot or fence wood, and 
with fruit-trees when they are to be regrafted. It is also done with stunted 



Fig. 340, 




forest-trees, for the sake of concentrating the sap into a few main shoots, 
instead of distributing it over a great many ; and it is done in transplanting 
trees of considerable size, intended to form avenues, or single trees in parks. 
The branches, if under two inches in diameter, are cut off clean with a bill 
49* 



582 farmer's hand-book. 

at one stroke ; or, if they are larger, they are first sawn off, and afterwards 
the section is made smooth with the bill-axe or the knife, but generally with 
what is called the bill-knife. 

Lopping. — This term is very generally applied to heading-in, but it is 
also as generally used to signify the cutting off large branches from the 
sides of stems, and in this sense we shall here treat of it. Lopping is per- 
formed in three manners, two of which are highly injurious to the timber 
of the trunk of the tree, and the other not so. The close and snag lopping 
are the modes which are injurious ; the only mode of lopping large branches 
from the sides of the trunks of trees, without injuring the timber in these 
trunks, is to shorten them to a branch of sufficient size to heal the wound at 
its base, or, at all events, to maintain the growth of the whole of the part of 
the branch left, and prevent decay from reaching the trunk. This mode is 
called lopping-in. Fis^. 340 represents one of tlie li)piiing or branch shears, 
and Fig. 341 the sliding pruning-shears. 

Cutting Down. — Cutting down the stem or trunk of a tree to the ground 
is an important operation, because, in some cases, such as that of resinous 
or needle-leaved trees, it kills the tree, while in others, or what are called 
trees that stole, which is a property of most broad-leaved trees, it affords 
the means of renewing the tree. Fruit-trees cannot generally be so treated, 
because the graft is for the most part only a few inches above the surface 
of the soil ; but even with fruit-trees, when they are stunted, there is no 
better mode of restoring them to vigor than by cutting them down to the 
graft. 

Stopping and Pinching-out. — When the point of a shoot is cut off, or 
pinched out, while that shoot is in a growing state, it is said to be stopped ; 
that is, the shoot is prevented from extending its length, and the sap, which 
■was before impelled to its growing point, is now expended in adding to the 
largeness or succulence of the leaves or fruits which may be on the shoot, 
or in swelling or developing the buds, or in some cases changing them from 
leaf-buds into flower-buds. The principal uses of stopping, however, are to 
promote the setting and the swelling of the fruit, either on the shoot of the 
current year, as in the case of the vine and melon, or at its base, as in the 
case of the peach. Much of the winter pruning of trees might be prevented 
oy stopping the shoots early in summer, provided the state of the tree did 
not require that the shoots should be allowed to grow their full length, in 
order to send down nutriment to the increase of the roots, in consequence 
of which greater vigor is in turn imparted to the stem and branches. In 
this case of pruning, as in every other, the state of the tree, and a variety 
of circumstances connected with it, require to be taken into consideration. 

Disbarking. — This includes two distinct operations, — the removal of 



HORTICULTURAL SCIENTIFIC OPERATIONS. 683 

coarse, loose, outside bark, to admit of the swelling of the inner bark and the 
alburnum by the returning sap, and the removal of a ring of both inner and 
outer bark, with a view to the interruption of the returning sap. The 
removal of old bark is an operation chiefly performed with old fruit-trees in 
orchards, for the sake partly of getting rid of lichens and mosses, and partly to 
remove crevices which might harbor insects. It is also practised on the 
stems of old vines for the latter purpose ; one effect of removing the loose 
outer bark of any stem being to increase its susceptibility of suffering from 
changes of temperature and moisture, it may therefore often be more injuri- 
ous than useful. Disbarking for the tanner consists in removing the whole 
of the bark, and is best performed in spring, when, in consequence of the 
abundance of ascending sap, the bark separates easily from the wood. 
Scraping trees, to keep them clean, is also considerably practised. 

Ringing. — This operation consists in taking off a narrow ring of bark 
from a stem or branch, or even from a root, the object of which is to check 
the returning sap, and force it to expand itself among the leaves, flowers, 
or fruit, which are situated above the incision. The ring of bark taken off 
varies in width from a sixteenth to half an inch or an inch, and its depth is 
always equal to that of both outer and inner bark. In general, the width 
of the ring taken off should not be greater than the tree has the power of 
re-covering with bark, during the same or the following year. The operation 
maybe performed at any season, but its effects will only be rendered obvious 
when the plant is in leaf, because at other seasons there is little or no sap 
elaborated to be returned. Compressing the bark by a ligature of wire or 
cord, or by a mass of Roman cement, put on like the clay of a graft, pro- 
duces the same effect as ringing. In the case of fruit-trees, it is frequently 
executed on the branches to produce blossom-buds, and by the same means 
seedling plants are sooner thrown into blossom than they otherwise would 
be. It has little effect on stone fruits ; and while it succeeds on the goose- 
berry, it is said not to do so on the currant. Judiciously applied, it may 
often serve as a substitute for root pruning and top pruning. 

Disbudding. — This is the removal of buds early in spring, just when 
they are beginning to develop their leaves ; and is commonly performed with 
the finger and thumb, the object being to lessen the number of shoots or of 
blossom-buds to be produced. By lessening the number of blossom-buds, it 
will add to the strength and probability of setting of those wh ch remain, 
and the same increase of strength will take place in respect to the shoots, 
whilst, at the same time, the number of these is reduced to an approximation 
of that which can ultimately be retained for training. By applying this 
mode of pruning judiciously on such trees as the peach, apricot, and plum, 
especially when trained against walls, the use of the knife mav be in a great 



584 farmer's hand-book 

measure dispensed with, excepting for cutting out diseased or decaying 
shoots. In removing the buds, care should be taken not to injure the bark 
of the shout. The buds ought not to be all disbudded at the same time ; the 
fore-right ones should be first removed, and the others successively, at inter- 
vals of several days, in order not to check the circulation of sap by a too 
great privation of foliage at once. 

Disleafing. — By taking the leaves off a growling shoot as fast as they are 
unfolded, no buds are matured in their axils ; and thus, while the superfluous 
vigor of the tree is expended, no sap is returned to the root. Disleafing in 
this manner the summer's shoots of a tree, as they proceed in growth, has 
been found the simplest mode of reducing the strength of an over-luxuriant 
tree. When a tree fills the space allotted to it against a wall, and shows a 
disposition to still further growth, by throwing up strong vertical shoots 
above the wall, and luxurious breast-wood on the main boughs, instead of 
checking this disposition by any of the ordinary modes of pruning, some 
gardeners assist the tree to throw off the superabundant sap, by disleafing 
the breast-wood and vertical shoots, and in the winter pruning all the buds 
on such shoots as are displaced, even those on the points, after which they die 
off by degrees, and are cut out. Disleafing is frequently practised with fruit- 
bearing plants, both woody and herbaceous, with a view to admit the sun 
and air to the fruit, and sometimes also to assist in ripening wood by stop- 
ping growth. 

Slitting and Splitting. — These may be classed under modes of pruning, 
the first being occasionally employed to relieve hide-bound trees, — a practice 
of doubtful utility, — and the second to stimulate the stems to the production 
of roots or shoots. Hide-bound trees are relieved by slitting the bark longi- 
tudinally from the collar as high up the stem and along the branches as may 
be considered necessary. The lower extremities of cuttings are sometimes 
slit up, and shoots are split or fractured to excite buds. 

Bruising and Teamig. — Bruising and tearing off the stems of plants 
from their roots are in some cases found to be more effective than cutting 
them off with a smooth section. A very full crop of pears has been obtained 
from trees which before had not borne at all, by twisting and breaking down 
the young shoots late in the autumn, when the wood had become tough, and 
after the sap had retreated. This practice has been found successful with 
branches on which ringing had been tried without success, and the pendent 
branches continued perfectly healthy. 

Clipping. — This is confined chiefly to common hedges and box edgings. 

Root Pruning. — As the nourishment of a plant is absorbed from the soil 
by the roots, it is evident that the supply will be diminished by partially cut- 
ting off its source. The effect of cutting through the stronger roots of trees 



HORTICULTURAL SCIENTIFIC OPERATIONS. 585 

is analogous in its first effects to that of ringing; with this diffeience, that 
the returning sap is stagnated throughout the whole tree, instead only in the 
parts above the ring. The immediate effect is to check the luxuriancy of 
wood-shoots, and induce the formation of fruit-buds. The operation, how- 
ever, should not be carried so far as to reduce too much the vigor of the tree, 
and prevent the second result, — that of pushing a number of fibrous roots 
from those amputated ; for, in defect of these, the health of the tree must 
decline under the load of, in that case, imperfectly nourished fruit. With 
a view to the production of a greater number of fibrous roots, old trees may 
be subjected to a cautious root pruning ; but it must not be performed on 
subjects unable to bear the shock, or on those in which the power of throw- 
ing out fresh roots is very weak. If, however, it is found that fresh roots 
have been emitted from one amputation, others may be performed, as the 
roots resulting from each preceding operation come into action. Root prun- 
ing is generally performed with a sharp spade, and generally only on the 
main roots, at the distance of several feet from the stem, according to the 
magnitude of the tree. Though this mode is chiefly employed to check the 
luxuriance of young fruit-trees and throw them into blossom, yet it may be 
employed for these purposes with all trees and shrubs whatever. 

Girdling and Felling. — This is very common in this country, not for the 
sake of improving the timber, but to destroy life and facilitate the destruction 
of the tree. It is strongly recommended to disbark trees in the spring, before 
they are to be felled, and the effect of this, in hardening the timber, is very 
great ; but, in a hot summer, the exposed alburnum is apt to split more or 
less. A better mode has been found to be that of merely cutting out clean 
a rim, about four inches in width, of the bark, close to the ground. By 
girdling, the whole of what would otherwise be mere alburnum becomes 
similar to the heart- wood, and this may be one reason why the boards made 
from such trees are found not to warp. Larches are particularly susceptible 
to this process. 

Seasons for Pruning. — The seasons for pruning vary according to the 
object in view. Where wood is to be cut out or buds removed, so as to 
throw strength into the remaining parts of the tree, the sooner the operation 
is performed, after the fall of the leaf, the better ; because, as the sap is more 
or less in motion, and consequently impelled to all the buds, throughout the 
whole of the winter, that which would have been employed on the shoots 
and buds cut off is saved, and those which remain are invigorated by it. 
Next to autumn, — according to the opinions of some of the most experi- 
enced growers, — winter is to be preferred, for the same reason ; but in this 
season mild weather is always to be chosen, because liiC frost, if severe, 
will seize on the moisture of newly-made wounds, and rupture therr surface. 



586 farmer's hand-book. 

The worst season in which any description of wood pruning can be performed 
is the spring, just before the expansion of the leaves, when the sap is rising 
with the greatest vigor. The slightest wound made in many plants, both 
woody and herbaceous, at this season, especially young, vigorous ones, where 
the sap-vessels are large, occasions a great loss of sap, which must neces- 
sarily weaken the plant, unless speedily checked by the only effectual mode 
in which this can be done, the expansion of the leaves. For disbudding and 
ringing, spring is the most suitable season, — at least, for the latter practice, 
for nothing is gained by ringing before the leaves begin to expand. Buds 
which are to be removed should remain as short a time as possible after they 
are formed by the leaves ; but as the labor is much greater in taking them off 
in autumn and winter, when they are small, than in spring, when all their 
parts are more or less expanded, the operation is generally deferred till the 
latter season. For disleafing, it is necessary to commence as soon as the 
leaves begin to expand, and continue it as long as they are produced. The 
advantages of pruning just before midsummer are, that the wounds may be 
partially healed over the same season, and that the sap which would have 
been employed in maturing the shoots cut off is thrown into those which 
remain. The disadvantages are, that the sap which would have been elabo- 
rated by the leaves cut off, and which would have added to the strength of 
the tree and its roots, is lost. In the case of trees already sufficiently strong, 
this is no disadvantage ; but in the case of those which are too weak, it is a 
positive loss. The summer season is found better than any other for prun- 
ing trees which gum, such as the cherry and the plum, provided too much 
foliage is not thereby taken away ; and it is also considered favorable for 
resinous trees. The autumn, on the other hand, is considered the best for 
trees that are apt to suffer from bleeding, such as the vine, the birch, and 
some species of maple. 

IV. TRAINING. 

Uses of Training. — To train a plant is to support or conduct its stem and 
branches in some form or position, either natural or artificial, for purposes of 
use or ornament. It is effected partly by pruning and thinning, but chiefly by 
pegging down to the ground, tying and fastening to rods, stakes, or trellises, 
or nailing to walls. The articles more immediately required are hooked 
pegs, ties, nails, and lists, with props of various kinds, and ladders. 

Pnnciples of Training. — The principles upon which training is founded 
vary according to the object in view, but they all depend more or less on 
these facts : — that the sap of a plant is generally impelled with the greatest 
force to its highest point, and that, in general, whatever promotes this ten- 
dencv encourages the production of leaves and shoots, and whatever represses 



HORTICULTURAL SCIENTIFIC OPERATIONS. SSt 

it promotes tlie formation of blossom-buds. When a plant is to be trained 
over the surface of the ground, it must be borne in mind, that, as the tendency 
of the sap is always to the highest bud, the shoots pegged down should be 
allowed to turn up at the points, in order to promote their extension. When 
the object is to produce blossoms or fruitfulness, a contrary practice should 
be followed, and the jwints o*" '.he shoots kept down, or, in the case of upright 
grown plants, trained horizontally, or even in a downward direction. This 
should also be done when the object is to restrain over-luxuriance, and a 
contrary practice when a weak or sickly plant or tree is to be invigorated. 
When the object is to economize space, the plants are trained against a trellis, 
as occupying length, but very little breadth ; and when it is to increase 
temperature, they are trained or spread out against a wall, which prevents 
the conducting of heat and moisture from the branches, by acting as a screen 
against winds, and increases heat, by reflecting the rays of the sun during 
the day, and giving out heat during the night, and whenever the atmosphere 
is at a lower temperature than the wall. 

Manual Operations of Training. — The tie or the list, by which the shoots 
are fastened to the wall or trellis, should be placed in the inteniode, and 
always immediately behind a bud or joint ; because, when tying or nailing 
takes place in the summer season, and near the points of the growing shoots, 
the latter sometimes elongate after being fastened, and if this elongation is 
prevented from taking place in a straight line, by the fastening being made 
immediately before a bud or leaf, instead of immediately behind it, the shoot 
will be forced in a curved direction, and the bud and its leaf injured. The 
bast ties are gently twisted before being tied into a knot, in order that it may 
be the firmer, and not liable to be torn during the operation of tying. Osier 
ties, which are frequently used for espalier- trees, are fastened by twisting 
together the two ends, and turning them down in a manner sooner and 
easier done than described. In fastening shoots with nails and shreds, when 
any restraint is required to retain the shoot in its position, the pressure must 
always be against the shred, and never against the nail, as the latter would 
gall the shoot, and in stone-fruits generate gum. The shred ought not to be 
placed in the hollow of a bend in the branch to be attached ; for there it is 
worse than useless. On the contrary, the shreds should be put on so as to 
pull the external bends inwards towards the direct line in which it is desira- 
ole the branch should be trained. Nails an inch in length are sufficient for 
ordinary branches, but twice that length is necessary for very large ones ; 
ihey should, in general, be driven into the joints, and not into the backs, 
because the joints are easily repaired. Shreds of woollen are preferred to 
those of any other cloth, or to leather, as being softer, and less influenced by 
the weather. Their length should be such as to contain a shoot double the 



588 



farmer's hand-book. 



size of that for which they are intended, in order that they may never com- 
press the shoots so much as to impede the returning sap, and their breadth 
may be from half to three quarters of an inch to a whole inch. They should 
be folded up a little at each end, so that in driving the nail through the 
shred it will pierce four times its thickness, and be in no danger of tearing. 
Training Herbaceous and Shrubby Plants in Pots. — These, being in a 
highly artificial state, when they require training should have straight rods, 
01 symmetrical frames of laths or of wire-work. A common mode for the 
grape is seen in the annexed cut ; formed of rods and rings of stout wire, 
the whole being painted according to the taste of the grower. 

Fig. 342. 




Training Hardy Flowering Shrubs in the Open Ground. — Trailing and 
creeping shrubs seldom require any assistance from art, excepting when 
they are made to grow upright on posts, trellises, or walls. The cut which 
follows represents a climbing rose, trained down from a ring which forms 
the top to an iron rod. This is called the balloon manner of training, and 
was first applied to apple-trees. When the rod is fixed in the ground, the 
ring at the top should stand an inch or two higher than the graft at the top 
of the stock, or than the head formed on the stem of the plant, if it should 
not have been grafted. Six or eight of the strongest shoots are then to be 
selected, and tied to the ring with tarred twine; and if, from their length, 
they are liable to blow about, their ends are attached to twine, continued 
from the wire to pegs stuck in the ground, as shown in the figure. 

Training Fruit-trees. — By far the most important application of training 
is to fruit-trees, whether for the purpose of rendering them more prolific, 
improving the quality of the fruit, growing fruit in the open air which could 
not otherwise be grown, except under glass, or confining the trees within a 
limited space. Fruit-trees are trained either as protuberant bushes or trees 
in the open garden, or spread out on flat surfaces against walls or espaliers. 



HORTICULTURAL SCIENTIFIC OPERATIONS. 



589 



In either case, the operation is founded on the principle of suppressing the 
direct channel of the sap, by which it is more equally distributed over the 




•tree, the tendency to produce over-vigorous shoots from the highest part is 
diminished, and the production of flowers from every part increased. We 
find that trees in a state of nature always produce their first flowers from 
lateral branches, to which the sap flows less abundantly than to those which 
are vertical ; and the object of training may be said to be, to give all the 
parts of a tree the character of lateral branches. With a view to this, 
certain rules have been derived from the principle of the suppression 
of the sap, which it may be useful to notice as of general application 
to every mode of training: — 1. Branches left loose, and capable of being 
put in motion by the wind, grow more vigorously than those which are 
attached ; and hence the rule to nail or tie in the stronger shoots first, 
and to leave the weaker shoots to acquire more vigor. Hence, also, the 
advantage of training with fixed branches against walls, as compared with 
training with loose branches in the open garden, when greater fruitfulnesa 
is the object. 2. Upright shoots grow more freely than inclined shoots. 
Therefore, when two shoots of unequal vigor are to be reduced to an equality, 
50 



590 farmer's hand-book. 

the wetiker must be elevated and the stronger depressed. 3. The shoots on 
the upper side of an inclined branch will always be more luxuriant than 
tliose on the lower side ; therefore preserve, at the period of pruning or dis- 
budding, only the strongest shoots below, and only the weakest above. 
4. The lower branches of every tree and shrub decay naturally before the 
upper branches; therefore bestow the principal care on them, whether in 
dwarf bushes in the open garden, or with trees trained on espaliers or Avails. 
When they are weak, cut them out, and bring down others to supply their 
place ; or turn up their extreme points, which will attract a larger portion 
of sap to every part of the branch. 

Different Modes of Trainino^ Bushes and Trees in the Open Garden. — 
These are chiefly the conical form for tall trees or standards, and some 
modification of the globe or cylinder for dwarfs ; but it may be remarked 
that unless these and all other artificial forms are constantly watched, to 
check the tendency to return to nature, they are much better dispensed with. 
By careful attention, some of these artificial forms will bring trees sooner 
into a bearing state, and a greater quantity of fruit will also be produced in a 
limited space ; but if the continued care requisite for these objects is with- 
drawn for two or three years, the growth of the tree, while returning to its 
natural character, will produce a degree of confusion in the branches that 
will not be remedied till all the constrained branches have been cut away. 
Wherever, therefore, fruit is to be grown on a large scale, and in the most 
economical manner, in orchards or in the open garden, it is found best to let 
every tree take its natural shape, and confine the pruner and trainer to such 
operations as do not greatly interfere with it. These are chiefly keeping the 
tree erect with a straight stem, keeping the head well balanced, and thinning 
out the branches where they are crowded or cross each other, or become 
weak or diseased. There are, however, many persons who have small 
gardens, and who have leisure or means to attend to all the minutiae of cul- 
ture ; and to these some of the modes of training protuberant dwarfs and 
standards may be of considerable importance, by bringing the trees into a 
bearing state sooner than would be the case if they were left to nature, and 
by producing much fruit in little space. 

Different Modes of Training Fruit-trees against Walls or Espaliers. — 
These may all be reduced to three forms or systems : — the fan or palmate 
form, which is the most natural mode, and that most generally applicable ; 
the horizontal system, which is adapted to trees with strong stems, and of 
long duration ; and the perpendicular system, which is chiefly adapted to 
climbers, such as the vine. Trees trained by any of the preceding modes, 
against a wall or espalier, are much more under the control of art than can 
ever be llie case with trees or bushes in the open garden ; because, in the 



HORTICULTURAL SCIENTIFIC OPERATIONS. 591 

latter case, the whole tree, as well as its branches, is at all times more or 
less liable to be put in motion by the wind, whereas against a wall they are 
fixed, and have not the aid of motion to increase their thickness. For these 
reasons, and also because flat training is applied to trees which, as protuber- 
ant bushes in the open garden, would scarcely produce fruit at all, flat train- 
ing cannot be dispensed with. In making choice of a mode of flat training, 
the nature of the tree, the climate, soil, and the object in view, must be 
jointly taken into consideration. Trees of temporary duration, which natu- 
rally produce numerous divergent branches, such as the peach and the apricot, 
are best adapted for fan training, where the climate is favorable ; but in a 
cold climate an approach to the horizontal manner may be preferable, by 
lessening the quantity of wood produced, and thus facilitating its ripening. 
The horizontal system of training produces the greatest constraint on nature, 
and is therefore adapted for fruit-trees of the most vigorous growth, and of 
large size, such as the pear and apple, which are almost always trained in 
this manner, whether on walls or espaliers. For plants producing shoots 
having little or no tendency to ramify, and which are of comparatively short 
duration, the perpendicular manner is the most natural and the easiest; 
nevertheless, by disbudding and training, plants of this kind can be made to 
assume the fan form, and thus be rendered more productive in blossoms and 
fruit than if trained in a manner which is more natural to them ; and in the 
case of the vine, even the horizontal system may be adopted, because its 
shoots are of great duration. 

Training Dwarfs in (he Open Garden. — These are trained in the form 
of hollow bushes, concave, or shaped like cups, urns, goblets, or barrels, 
the form being, in every case, produced by training the shoots to a frame- 
work of rods and hoops. Dwarfs are also trained in the form of globes, 
balloons, cylinders, low cones, pyramids, triangles, and sometimes with the 
branches in regular stages, like a girandole. All dwarfs, whether to be left 
to nature or trained artificially, are grafted on stocks naturally of humble 
growth, such as the quince or the mountain-ash for the pear, &c., &c. 

Spiral Cylinders. — Prune and manage the tree so that it shall form from 
three to six branches, of as nearly equal size as possible, within about six or 
eight inches of the ground ; and as soon as the branches are grown from 
three to five feet long, fix six rods, or stakes, into the earth, for supporting 
them, in a circle about the root. Each branch is then to be brought down, 
and being fixed to the rod near its base, the branch is to be carried round in 
a spiral manner, on such an elevation as will form an inclination of about 
fifteen degrees, and each branch is to be fixed in the same manner, one after 
another ; thus all will move in the same direction, one above the other, like 
BO many cork-screws following in the same course, as shown in the annexed 



592 FARMER S HAND-BOOK. 

figure. As, from this position of the branches, the point bud of each leader 
will present the most vertical channel for the sap, the strongest shoot will 
form there, and thus afford the means of continuing the leaders to a great 
height, and for a great length of time, without crossing or obstructing each 




other, or throwing out useless collaterals ; at the same time, by the depressed 
position of the leading branches, enough sap will be pushed out on their 
sides to form and maintain vigorous fruiting spurs. As trees trained in this 
manner need never exceed the bounds allotted them on a border or bed, a 
greater number of trees may be planted, and a greater quantity of fruit pro- 
duced, in a given space, than can be the case when they are trained in any 
other manner. But as pear and apple trees on free stocks may be found to 
grow too rude and large, after a few years, those best answer which are 
grafted on dwarf-growing stocks. However, to keep dwarf trees from 
growing too luxuriant and rude, it is a good practice to take them up and 
replant them every three or four years ; if this be done with due care, as 
soon as the leaves are off the trees in the fall of the year, it will not injure 
them, nor prevent them bearing a full crop of fruit the following year. 

Spurring-in. — Choose a tree that has a leading shoot in an upright 
direction ; having planted it, shorten the side shoot, leaving only two or 
three buds, and shorten also the leading shoot, according to its strength, so 
that no more buds may be left on it than will produce shoots. The first 
summer there will be a produce of shoots, and if before mid-summer the 
leading shoot be shortened, it will probably throw out side shoots the same 
season. At the winter pruning, all the side shoots maybe shortened to two 
or three buds, and the leading shoot to such a number as it is believed will 
be developed. These are to be shortened, and the process of shortening is 
to be repeated every year, till the tree has the appearance of Fig. 345 ; or 
until it has attained the height required, or which the kind of tree is calcu- 
lated to attain. 



HORTICULTURAL SCIENTIFIC OPERATIONS, 



593 



Fig. 345. 



Conical Standards. — Conical standards, or, as they are erroneously called, 
pyramidal standards, may be produced from trees partially spurred-in, but 



Fig. 346. 




the most general mode is, to cut in the side branches ; after passing through 
50* 



694 farmer's hand-book. 

several successive stages, the tree is brought to its regular shape, and the 
Bame tree, with the branches of the current year, tied down iu the quenou- 
ille manner, is represented in Fig. 346. From the experience of French 
gardeners, it would appear that trees trained in the conical manner and 
en quenouille do not last longer than ten or twelve years. Copper wire is 
used for tying down the branches, and the lower ends of the wires are 
attached to the stouter branches, to the main stem, to hooked pegs stuck m 
the ground, or to a wooden frame fixed a few inches above its surface. 

Fan Training. — The maiden plant is to be headed down to four eyes, 
placed in such a manner as to throw out two shoots on each side, as shown 
in the following figure. The following season, the two uppermost shoots 

Fig- 347. 



X / 



are to be headed down to three eyes, placed in such a manner as to throw 
out one leading shoot, and one shoot on each side ; the two lowermost shoots 
are to be headed down to two eyes, so as to throw out one leading shoot, 
and one shoot on the uppermost side. We have now five leading shoots on 
each side, well placed, to form our future tree. Each of these shoots must 
be placed in the exact position in which it is to remain ; and as it is these 
ehoots which are to form the leading character of the future tree, none of 
them are to be shortened. The tree should by no means be suffered to bear 
any fruit this year. Each shoot must now be suffered to produce, besides 
the leading shoot at the extremity, two other slioots on the uppermost side, 
one near to the bottom, and one about midway up the stem ; there must 
also be one shoot on the undermost side, placed about midway between the 
other two. All the other shoots must be pinched off iu their infant state. 
From the third year it may be allowed to bear what crop of fruit the gar- 
dener thinks it able to carry ; in determining which, he ought never to 
overrate the vigor of the tree. All of these shoots, except the leading ones, 
must be shortened at the proper season, but to what length must be left 
entirely to the judgment of the gardener, it, of course, depending upon the 
vigor of the tree. In shortening the shoot, care should be taken to cut 
back to a bud that will produce a shoot for the following year. Cut close 
to the bud, so that the wound may heal the following season. The follow, 
ing season, each shoot at the extremities of the leading branches should 
produce, besides the leading shoot, one on the upper and two on the under 



HORTICULTURAL SCIENTIFIC OPERATIONS. 



595 



part, more or less, according to the vigor of the tree ; whilst each of the 
secondary branches should produce, besides the leading shoot, one other, 
placed near to the bottom : for the grand art of pruning, in all systems to 
which this class of trees are subjected, consists in preserving a sufficient 
quantity of young wood at the bottom of the tree ; and on no account must 
the gardener cut clean away any shoots so placed, without well consider- 
ing if they will be wanted, not only for the present but for the future good 
appearance of the tree. The quantity of young wood annually laid in mus* 
depend upon the vigor of the tree. But if any of the leading shoots mani- 
fest a disposition to outstrip the others, a larger portion of young wood must 
be laid in, and a greater quantity of fruit than usual suffered to ripen on the 
over-vigorous branch ; at the same time, a smaller quantity of fruit than 
usual must be left to ripen on the weaker branch. This will tend to restore 
the equilibrium better than any other method. The following figure is that 




of a tree in a more advanced state, well balanced, and well calculated for an 
equal distribution of sap all over its surface. Whenever any of the lower 
shoots have advanced so far as to incommode the others, they should be cut 
back to a yearling shoot ; this will give them room, and keep the lower part 
of the tree in order. In nailing, care must be taken not to bruise any part 
of the shoot ; the wounds made by the knife heal quickly, but a bruise often 
proves incurable. In nailing in the young shoots, dispose them as straight 
and as regular as possible. Whatever system of training is pursued, the 
leading branches should be laid in in the exact position they are to remain ; 
for wherever a large branch is brought down to fill the lower part of the 
wall, the free ascent of the sap is obstructed by the extension of the upper 
and contraction of the lower parts of the branch. It is thus robbed of part 



596 



farmer's hand-book. 



of its former vigor, whilst it seldom fails to throw out immediately behind 
the part most bent one or more vigorous shoots. 

Horizontal Training. — This is practised either with one or two stems, 
and either with the upright stem straight or in a zigzag direction, to stimu- 
late the lateral buds to develop themselves. From this upright stem, the 
branches proceed at right angles, — generally at nine inches apart for apples, 
cherries, and plums, and from ten inches to a foot, or eighteen inches, for 
pears. A maiden plant with three shoots having been procured, the two 
side ones are laid in horizontally, and the centre one upright, as in Fig. 
349, which shows the first stage of horizontal training. All the buds being 

Fig. 349. 




rubbed off the latter but three, viz., one next the top for a vertical leader, 
and one on each side, as near the top as possible, for horizontal branches. 
In the course of the first summer after planting, the shoots may be allowed 
to grow without being stopped. In the autumn of the first year, the two 
laterals produced are nailed in, and also the shoots produced from the ex- 
tremities of the lower laterals, the centre shoot being headed down as before. 
But in the second summer, when the main shoot has attained the length of 

Fig. 350. 




ten inches, or twelve inches, it may be stopped ; which, if the plant is m 
proper vigor, will cause it to throw out two horizontal branches, in addition 



HORTICULTURAL SCIENTIFIC OPERATIONS. 597 

to those which were thrown out from the wood of the preceding year. Tlie 
tree will be now in its second summer, and will have four horizontal branches 
on each side of the upright stem ; and, by persevering in this system, four 
horizontal branches will be produced in each year, till the tree reaches the 
top of the wall, when the upright stem must terminate in two horizontal 
branches. In the following autumn the tree will have the appearance of 
Fig. 350, supposing an apple-tree be the plant to be trained, and tliat it 
consists of a single shoot from a bud. Let it be planted early in autumn, 
and next spring head it down to seven buds. Every bud pushing two or 
three shoots, the third and fourth, counting upwards, must be rubbed off 
when they are three inches in length ; the uppermost shoot must be trained 
straight up the wall, for a leading stem, and the remaining four horizontally 
along the wall. The leading shoot having attained about fifteen inches in 
length, cut it down to eleven inches. From the shoots that will thus be 
produced, select three, one to be trained as a leader, and two as side branches. 
Proceeding in this way for seven years, the tree will have reached the top 
of a wall twelve feet high. With weak trees, or trees in very cold, late 
situations, this practice will not be advisable, as the wood produced from 
the summer shoots would be too weak, or would not ripen ; but in all 
ordinary situations the plan will succeed. 

Perpendicular Training. — This is comparatively little used, excepting 
for climbing shrubs, such as roses, the vine, and the gooseberry and currant, 
when trained against a wall or espalier rail. The principle is to have two 
horizontal main stems on the lowest part of the wall or trellis, and to train 
from these upright shoots at regular distances. Sometimes four horizontal 
main stems are used, — two at the bottom, and the other two half way up 
the wall or espalier ; but this mode is chiefly pursued with the vine. 

Comparative View of the Different Modes of Training. — Of the various 
modes of training explained in the foregoing pages, any modification may 
be adopted when circumstances may require, provided the general princi- 
ples are kept in view. Ornamental shrubs are easily managed, because 
they have not a tendency to rear themselves by forming a strong stem ; 
but with regard to fruit-trees the case is otherwise. These, it is well 
known, if left to nature, form one strong stem, supporting a top which 
reaches the height of twenty, thirty, or forty feet, or more. In order to 
attain this, the sap rushes, whilst the tree is young and vigorous, towards 
the leading shoot; and if lateral branches occasionally are produced, the 
flow of sap is not strongly directed towards them, compared to that which is 
impelled towards the more upright part. At length, however, a ramifica- 
tion does take place, in comparison with which the leading shoo*, becomes 
less and less predominant, till it becomes ultimately lost among its com- 



598 farmer's hand-book. 

peers. A tolerably equal distribution of sap then results, and a conical or 
spherical top is formed, bearing fruit, not generally in the concavity, where 
it would be greatly excluded from light, but at the external surface, where 
the fruit itself, and the leaves immediately connected with the buds pro- 
ducing it, can be fully exposed to light, air, and dews. Lateral branches are 
occasionally produced on the stem, in the progress of its ascent. When the 
top is formed, these are placed at great disadvantage, owing to their being 
overshaded ; and they are then apt to decay, the tree assuming the charac- 
ter of a large, elevated top, supported on a strong, naked stem. This is the 
natural disposition of trees, and to this it is necessary to attend, in order that 
it may be counteracted where the natural form of the tree cannot be 
admitted. It should be borne in mind that the disposition to form an 
elevated naked stem is still strongly evinced in dwarf trees ; although sub- 
divided, yet each branch possesses its share of the original disposition, and 
its lower and horizontal shoots are left to become weak, in comparison with 
the upper, and those that are vertical. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

THE GREAT DISEASES OF PLANTS. 

BLIGHT, OR BLAST — CANKER, OR CARIES — CONSUMPTION — CONTORTION — 
DJIOPSY ERGOT HONEY-DEW — CURL MILDEW POTATO ROT SMUT- 
COTTON ROT — COTTON RUST — COTTON BLIGHT — SORE-SHIN. 

BLIGHT, OR BLAST. 

Description. — Blight is any disease which seriously damages or prevents 
the fructification of a crop. Some of the most familiar and devastating 
kinds of it have been fully investigated, and are known to he caused by 
insects, by fungi, or by well-defined chemical or meteorological agencies ; 
and have been described with an accuracy and minuteness which enable us 
readily to distinguish them from one another, to designate them by distinct- 
ive names, — such as Mildew, Smut, Rust, &c., — and to point out their 
origin, their indications, and their prevention, alleviation, or cure. There 
are however, one or two kinds of blight still mentioned by writers under 
the name of blight, and which are either principally or wholly ascribable to 
meteorological influence ; and these may here be noticed. 

Different Kinds of Blight. — One kind of blight is occasioned by prema- 
turely mild weather, followed by sharp frosts and easterly winds, in spring, 
which are liable to arrest the flow of sap from the roots, occasion the young 
leaves and shoots to shrivel and die, and cause the arrested juices to swell 
and burst the tender vessels, and to become the prey of innumerable aphides. 
The general result is either the death of the plant, the destruction of its 
growth for the season, or at least the infliction upon it of a great degree of 
temporary feebleness. The aphides which feed upon the extravasated 
juices, though but a consequence of the blight, are sometimes mistakingly 
regarded as the cause of it, and supposed to be wafted by the east wind. 
Unskilful gardeners sometimes aggravate the blight by closely matting up 
the trees, or keeping them protected during the day, thus rendering them so 
exceedingly tender that even a slight subsequent frost does them material 
damage. The sudden evaporation of hoar-frost from the opening leaflets of 
a young hedge, by a powerful sun, in a calm vernal atmosphere, sometimea 
so utterly destroys the incipient shoots, and kills all the young foliage, as to 
produce, in a few days, the appearance of a severe scorching by fire. A 

(699) 



600 FA iMEU's HAND-BOOK. 

hedjfe thus blighted occasionally remains leafless throughout the summer, 
or only shows some feeble symptoms of exfoliation toward the beginning of 
autumn ; and it ought, in every case, to be left untouched till, by its own 
vitality, or without any artificial appliance, it has recovered strength and 
vigor. 

Another kind of blight sometimes occurs in summer, when farm crops 
have attained their full growth, and is usually ascribed to sultry and pesti- 
lential vapor, — the plants being shrunken and shriveled up to less than 
half their former size, with a withered and blasted appearance. Though 
such instances as this are ascribed wholly to atmospherical causes, a care- 
ful inspection of the straw might possibly detect the presence of minute 
parasitic fungi. 

A third kind of blight, called by many the white blight, is occasioned by 
deficiency or failure of proper nourishment. It occasionally attacks all 
kinds of plants, both wild and cultivated ; is most common in thin, gravelly, 
irretentive soils, in very dry seasons ; and it usually consists in throwing the 
plants prematurely into blossom, and ripening the ear or pod before the 
body, or more than the mere embryo of the seed, is formed. The only 
known palliatives or preventives of these three kinds of blight are, proper 
condition and thorough treatment of the soil. 

CANKER, OR CARIES. 

Description. — This is a disease in fruit-trees, elms, larches and other trees. 
It chiefly corrupts the juices, corrodes the substance, and destroys the vitality 
of the young shoots and branches of fruit-trees, and it has long been known 
and deplored as a most formidable enemy of orchards. Its symptoms vary 
considerably in trees of the same species, and very widely in trees of dif- 
ferent genera. In some instances of its attack, a black speck appears on the 
epidermis of a tree, assumes the character of an erosion, and gradually eats 
away the organism, till the branch becomes utterly enfeebled, and readily 
breaks ; in other instances, a scrofulous-looking ring surrounds the branch, 
and eats its way inward till it reaches the pith ; and in others, a black and 
thread-like line of disease originates in the pith itself, and exerts, in the 
direction of the exterior, a killing power upon all the branch's functions. 
The first of these, however, is the most common commencing symptom of 
the disease, and this is usually accomi)anied with an enlargement of the 
vessels of the bark, but in some instances is dry, and in others watery. 

The swelling or enlargement of the vessels of the bark, which constitutes 
so conspicuous a symptom of some of the ordinary kinds of canker, invaria- 
bly and prominently attends it in the apple-tree, invariably but less promi- 
nently attends it in the pear-tree, frequently but not always attends it in the 



THE GREAT DISEASES OF PLANTS. 601 

elm and the oak, and very seldom, if ever, attends it in the peach. The 
swelling is soon communicated to the wood, which, if laid open to view, on 
its first appearance, by the removal of the bark, exliibits no marks of dis- 
ease beyond the mere unnatural enlargement. In the course of a few years, 
— less in number, in proportion to the advanced age of the tree, and the 
unfavorable circumstances under wliich it is vegetating, — the swelling is 
greatly increased in size, and the alburnum has become extensively dead ; 
the superincumbent bark cracks, rises in discolored scales, and decays 
even more rapidly than the wood t)eneath. If the canker is upon a mod- 
erately-sized branch, the decay soon completely encircles it, extending 
through the whole alburnum and bark. The circulation of the sap being 
thus entirely prevented, all the parts above the disease of necessity perish. 
The first appearance of the disease in the peach is so very slight, that an 
unexperienced observer of it would suppose it to be of no consequence. 
Small brown circular spots constitute the whole of this appearance, and may 
easily be cut out with the knife, so as to let the subsequent vegetation be as 
vigorous as if they had never existed. But let the spots be forgotten for a 
few days, and when the observer returns to examine them, they will be 
found to have spread far and corroded deeply. 

Origin. — The causes assigned for canker have been very various and 
conflicting, and the subject of much controversy. Some writers think that 
it is occasioned by coldness and churlishness of climate; others regard it 
as a tropical disease in the parts immediately afllected, brought on by some 
bruise or other injury, and exasperated by an unhealthy sap, consequent upon 
unfavorableness of situation, soil and culture ; others view it as an effect of 
the lodgment of minute, parasitic fungi, growing from spores, either taken up 
from the soil through the spongioles, or received from diffusion through the 
atmosphere into cracks or wornds in the bark ; and others think that it is a 
disease in the constitution or whole organic system of trees, — that it springs 
from a vitiated and peccant state of all the juices, and that it will again and 
again break out, independently of any external injury or agency, so long as 
the juices continue to be unaltered. 

Opinions as to fungi being the cause of canker are exceedingly various 
and conflicting. Minute parasitic fungi unquestionably attend most 
instances of canker, and sometimes exist in such myriads as to impart a 
peculiar tinge to the whole stem of cankered trees ; hut very diflferent fungi 
attack diflferent trees, several kinds sometimes attack the same species, and 
possibly some are either causes or aggravations of canker, while most are 
merely innocuous effects. The stramatos-phceria inulticffs so commonly and 
greatly abounds on cankered pear-trees, particularly on il;c jargonelle, the 
Windsor, the swan's egg, the summer bergamot and the autumn bergamol 
§1 



602 farmer's hand-book. 

varieties, and seeming to make their young shoois, and even their older 
branches, die away towaid the extremity, that it has been regarded by some 
close observers as the sole cause of their canker ; — a kind of fungus totally 
different from this accompanies, and has been thought by some persons to 
rouse, precisely similar symptoms of canker in apple-trees. 

The opinion that canker is occasioned by the weakness of a tree's consti- 
tution, by a distemper in all its juices, or by a deficiency in its functional 
energies, and by a consequent inability to imbibe and elaborate sufficient 
nourishment for existing organs, and sufficient matter for the formation of 
new parts, — this opinion makes very ample allowance for the malign influ- 
ence of bad climate, bad soil, bad cultivation, bad variety of tree, and all sorts 
of accidents and unfavorable circumstances ; and, as maintained by some 
writers, it even seems to speak of constitutional distemper as a convenient 
general expression for the operation of all kinds of conceivable causes. 
Johnson maintains that all facts unite in confirming the opinion that canker 
arises from the tree's weakness. It matters not whether its energy is 
broken down by an unnatural rapidity of growth, by a disproportioned excess 
of branches over the mass of roots, by old age, or by the disorganization of 
the roots in an ungenial soil ; they render the tree incapable of extracting 
sufficient nourishment from the soil, — consequently incapable of developing 
a sufficient foliage, and therefore unable to digest and elaborate even the 
scanty sap that is supplied to them. 

Both soil and subsoil, in spite of the assertion of a few writers to the 
contrary, appear to exert a very considerable influence. A wet, retentive 
subsoil does not permit sufficient aeration, cannot perform sufficient diges- 
tion, and will not allow a sutiiciency of perfectly fresh elements of healthy 
sap ; and therefore must act malignly, not alone as a reservoir of cankering 
vapors, but as an originator of impoverishing and poisonous juices. A deep 
and very rich soil gives trees a plethoric and dropsical habit, and, in conse- 
quence, occasions so powerful a predisposition to canker, that a cure for 
this disease in an orchard has sometimes been found in the simple process 
of wheeling away one stratum of the soil, and diluting the remaining 
stratum. If a subsoil either be ill-drained or consist of ferruginous gravel, 
or if a soil be clayey and not kept well drained and porous, all trees which 
grow upon it, but especially fruit-trees, are exceedingly liable to become 
cankered. A soil exhausted by long cropping, or charged with the sporidia 
of accumulated growths of minute emphytic fungi, is peculiarly unfavorable ; 
and hence an old worn-out orchard, if replanted with fruit-trees, is almost 
certain to communicate canker to even the most vigorous young plants 
which can be selected. A cold situation, frequency of raw fogs, and the 
prevalence of piercing and moist east winds, in the spring, seem to be the 
principal cankering elements in climate. Injudicious pruning, bruises, 



THE GREAT DISEASES OF PLANTS. 603 

damage to the bark, and all similar accidents, if they do not originate 
canker, seldom fail to aggravate it. Trees of every age are liable to 
canker ; but, as a general rule, all become increasingly so as they advance 
in age, and particularly such as have had a vigorous growth in their youth. 
All grafting varieties of fruit-trees, also, become more and more cankerable 
as they multiply in reproduction, till they eventually acquire such an 
accumulation of peccant humor as to be continually diseased, and no longer 
propagable. The scions of an old variety of fruit-trees merely multiply an 
aged individual ; and though they acquire temporary vigor from the young 
and stimulating sap of the stocks on which they are grafted, they become, 
in a few years, as cankerable and decrepit as the parent tree. The golden- 
pippin, one of the oldest varieties of the apple-tree at present cultivated, is 
frequently and severely attacked by the canker, — more so, according to 
some writers, than any other kind. 

Remedy. — The prevention and cure of canker are necessarily various, and 
must, in any one instance, be directed against the special forms which the dis- 
ease assumes, or the particular cause by which it is excited. If coldness of 
climate be the only cause which can fairly be assigned for it in any par- 
ticular orchard, covering with glass is the chief preventative ; and this, of 
course, can be apjdied to only a few select wall-trees. If fungi can, in any 
instance, be regarded as a chief exciting cause, a proper remedy might 
probably be the free use of the knife, and a subsequent copious washing 
with caustic lime-water. If plethoric or dropsical habits seem to be form- 
ing, or have already formed, one of the main roots of the tree may be 
removed, and an admixture of poor loam, sandy mould, or even of drift sand, 
or any other diluting matter, may be worked into the soil. If mere weak- 
ness of constitution, or defect of functional energy, appears to be the cause, 
while no one kind of exciting influence can be detected or inferred, a very 
efficient remedy is, to cut away all the infected parts, and make a judicious 
pruning among the remaining branches ; and even if such exciting circum- 
stances as unfavora!)le climate, ungenial soil, or previous bad culture, can 
be detected, an excellent effect may be produced by the gradual sawing and 
cutting away of exuberant branches and shoots. If canker in a fruit-tree is 
a consequence of old age, it is probably a premature senility, induced by 
injudicious management. Unless in the last stage of decay, a tree may be 
recovered by giving it more air and light, by carefully heading-in, pruning, 
improving the soil, and cleansing the bark. If the soil, by its ungenial 
character, induces the disease, the obvious and only remedy is its amelior- 
ation ; and if the subsoil is the cause of the mischief, the roots nnist be 
prevented striking into it. In all cases, it is the best practice to remove the 
tap-root. Some persons recommend, and many successfully practise, the 



604 farmer's hand-book. 

removal of all decayed or exuviated bark, and the application i f various 
liquid washes, such, as a solution of common salt, or a diluted liquid com- 
pound of cow-dung, soap-suds, and urine. When any bruise or other injury 
is inflicted, of a kind likely to induce or develop canker, a piece of living 
bark from another tree might be exactly fitted into the incision, in the same 
manner as in the operation of budding. The grand preventative of canker in 
larch-trees, — which are frequently and severely the subjects of this disease, 
— is to select, for plantations, such situations and soils as shall not subject 
the trees to combined coldness and moisture. 

' CONSUMPTION. 

This is the gradual enfeeblement and 'eventual wasting away and death 
of a plant. This must be viewed less as any one disease than as the com- 
mon or aggregate character of a number of diseases. It originates variously, 
in too frequent and profuse flowering, in bad planting, in mechanical dam- 
age to the roots, in poverty of soil, in excessive drought, in severe and sud- 
den vicissitudes of weather, in unusually tempestuous winds, and probably 
in some other causes equally distinct ; and it may be supposed to have a 
variety in its modes of action, or in its distinctive characters, corresponding 
to the variety of these causes. The preventative of most kinds of it is man- 
ifestly good culture. 

CONTORTION. 

This is the effect of the injury inflicted on the leaves of plants by the 
puncture of insects, particularly of the aphides. The leaves of the peach, 
the apricot, the nectarine, and the apple-tree, are very liable to contortion. 
The only sure preventative of the evil is to destroy the little creatures which 
cause it. 

DROPSY. 

Dropsy is a watery and diseased swelling in some parts of plants. It 
occurs chiefly in plants of a succulent nature, and principally in bulbs, 
tubers, and fruits. It appears to arise from the absorption of more moisture 
by the spongioles than can be secreted in the plant or thrown off by the 
leaves ; and it is known to be caused by excessive manuring, excessive 
artificial watering, and an unusual abundance of rain. Bulbs and roots 
affected with it are watery and swelled ; fruits are watery and insipid, and 
fall before being ripe ; and leaves, though continuing green and apparently 
sound, suddenly and prematurely fall. 



This is a disease in the growing grain or seed of some of the grasses, 
particularly of rye. It is the most mysterious of all the diseases with which 



THE GREAT DISEASES OF PLANTS. 605 

the cereal grasses are affected ; and, after multitudinous and most learned 
investigations, continues to be the subject of conflicting opinions as to its 
nature, its origin, and its mode of development. The substance called the 
ergot either issues from between the glumes, and occupies the place of the 
grain, or it is the grain itself, in both a monstrous form and a chemically 
altered condition. It lengthens to more than double the natural size of the 
grain ; protrudes beyond the chaff; is angled, grooved, and furrowed ; has a 
deep, purplish-brown color, and often assumes a curved form, somewhat 
resembling that of a cock's spur. Its surface, when seen through a micro- 
scope, is profusely marked with white, shining, transparent, angular dots ; 
and its interior, when laid open with a sharp instrument, and seen in water 
under a microscope, appears to consist of white flocculent threads, with 
spherical sporules. It has a spongy texture, a heavy, disagreeable odor, 
and a nauseous, acrid, burning taste; and when put in contact with the 
flame of a candle, it catches fire like an oily substance, and burns like an 
almond. It is supposed by some naturalists to be an excrescence similar to 
the oak-apple and the nut-gall, and to be occasioned by the puncture of some 
insect ; by others, to be a monstrous development or morbid swelling of 
the seed, occasioned by some disturbance in the organs of circulation or 
secretion ; and by others, to be a foreign or super-imposed vegetable growth, 
occasioned by a parasitic fungus. The last of these opinions is probably 
the best supported. 

Whatever be its origin and its physical nature, ergot exerts a dreadfully 
noxious power upon the system of any men or brutes who receive even very 
small portions of it in their food. It has been ascertained, by experiment 
upon many of the lower animals, to produce the most horrible gangrenes, 
rotting of the extremities, internal tortures, and agonizing death ; it hag 
been known to slough and kill not a few human beings who have eaten 
grain or flour infected with it. 

HONEY-DEW. 

Honey-dew, so called, is a clear, colorless, viscid, sweet liquid, found 
often on the leaves. of plants, and sometimes on the ground beneath them. 
It tastes somewhat like honey ; it is perfectly fluid in warm weather, but is 
somewhat consolidated or candied in cold weather; and, when evaporated 
from paper, it leaves a gummy mark, not unlike that left by solution of 
gum- Arabic. It appears sometimes in blotches upon leaves; sometimes in 
suffusion over the wliole surface of the lower leaves ; sometimes in globulat 
drops, of various sizes ; but, in all ordinary instances, it appears merely 
upon leaves, and only in such quantity as to seem like exudations on their 
bui'face. All ants and wasps and bees are extremely fond of it. 
61* 



606 farmer's hand-book. 

The opinions of different writers are very conflicting- as to tbe origin, f.r.d 
BO forth, of honey-dew. The most intelligent supposition respecting it is, 
that it is entirely the deposit of minute insects, — small flies, perhaps a 
species of the genus thrips, — which emit a sweet clammy liquor on the leaves 
of the tree it lives on. This opinion is fortified by the fact of there having 
frequently been noticed a great concourse of thripses, as well as aphides, on 
trees infested with honey-dew. The aphides, however, are by many persons 
considered the chief or sole producers of it, and it accompanies their flights 
and colonizations. They differ very widely, in some principal parts of their 
economy, from all other animals ; and cannot be regarded with greater 
wonder as ejectors of a viscid saccharine liquid, than as propagators of their 
species through a series of progenies as the effect of a single impregnation. 
They live wholly on liquid food, and discharge no solid excrements, and 
are provided not only with an anal vent, but with two long, horn-like rump 
tubes, for ejecting such refuse or portion of their food as is unnecessary for 
their nourishment. If they were regarded as forming the saccharine matter 
of the honey-dew in their interior organism, they would no doubt be a nota 
ble exception to the otherwise uniform origin of all saccharine substances ; 
but, when their peculiar economy of feeding and structure is considered, 
they may easily be supposed to act as simple living ducts of the saccharine 
matter from the vegetable vesicles in which they find it to the surface of the 
leaves on which they deposit it ; or, in other words, they receive the sac- 
charine matter ready made in their liquid food, and simply part with unde- 
composed portions of it in their ejections. The particular species which 
deposit most honey-dew are Aphis brnsskm, Aphis ropcB, Aphis ubui, Erios 
oma populi, and Eriosaina rnali. 

Honey-dew possesses an incidental value as an occasional and sometimes 
a principal food for bees. But, on the whole, honey-dew is a serious evil, 
partly by disfiguring the foliage of fruit-trees, and stickily attracting dust to 
plums and cherries, but chiefly by arising, through the medium of the 
aphides, from an enormous abstraction of the healthy juices out of plants. 
The only efl^ectual preventive or cure of it, of course, is to ward off or destroy 
the aphides; and some of the chief means of dealing with the species are 
noticed in our chapter on Insects. But a weak solution of common salt, 
applied to the soil around infected trees, has been found to be effectual. 



CURL. 

This is a disease in potato plants. It is developed before the plants rise 
to the surface of the ground, and it afl^ects them through all the future stages 
of their existence. The stem of the infected plants is puny and stinted ; the 



THE GREAT DISEASES OF PLANTS, 607 

leaves are meagre, sickly and crumpled ; and the tubers are small, and, if 
used for sets, are certain to propagate the disease. Of the various causes of 
this disease assigned by different w^riters, the true one appears to be the 
diminution of the vital energy of the tubers, either by over-ripening, by bad 
keeping, by sprouting, or by too deep planting. The want of strength to 
develop a full, healthy plant, is the disease itself in embryo ; and this is 
occasioned by any circumstance which diminishes the store of nourishment 
contained in the tubers for the support of the young plants. 

The means of preventing curl are distinctly suggested by the nature of its 
cause; and some of these means will, at the same time, prevent other dis- 
eases of the potato, and promote the general health and vigor of the plants. 
Tubers intended for sets ought to be simply matured and not over-ripened; 
they ought to be kept, througliout the winter and till the time when they are 
warned, in a condition of dryness, coolness, and exclusion from light and air ; 
and if, through mismanagement or accident, they be allowed to shoot, or 
even to exhibit decided symptoms of begun vegetation, they ought to be 
rejected from the uses of planting. The sets ought to be immediately 
planted after they are cut, and ought to be kept from exposure, during even 
the briefest time, to the play of sunshine, to a very high temperature, or to 
the current of a drying wind. The manure ought to be regularly spread 
and mixed with the soil, and not laid along a trench, or put in immediate 
contact with the sets. Potatoes ought not to be planted, for a succession of 
years, on the same field or plot ; and the tubers used for planting ought, 
every year, or as frequently as i)ossible, to be obtained from another kind of 
soil, particularly from a poorer one than that in which they are to be 
planted. When the seed-stock is carefully pitted, and not exposed to the 
air, in the spring, the crop has seldom any curl ; but where the seed-stock is 
put into barns, and other similar places, for months together, such crop 
seldom escapes turning out in some measure curled ; and if but few curl the 
first year, if they are plaated again, it is more than probable the half of thera 
will curl the next season. 



The Use of the Word or Term. — This is the appropriate name of a 
specific, devastating, and dismally common disease in wheat and other 
grasses, and is now the only thing meant by the word mildew, in the writ- 
ings of the most intelligent and scientific agricultural writers. 

Its Nature. — With respect to its nature, all botanists now believe that 
mildew, in its normal form, as a spotting and blotching on the stalks of 
wheat, is the regular parasitic growth of minute fungi, — Puccinia grami' 
nis; and several of the most eminent writers think that the diseases called 



608 farmer's hand-book. 

rust, red-bag, red-robin, and red-gum, which infest the leaves and chaff- 
scales of wheat, and produce a discoloration similar to that of iron-rust or 
of burning, are simply modifications of varieties of the normal mildew, or 
Puccinia graminis. 

Growth and Phenomena of Mildeio. — Though one of the minutest objects 
in the vegetable world, m^ildew is so prodigiously prolific and immensely 
multitudinous as to be one of the mightiest physical scourges, as well as one 
of the oldest ; and yet, even at this advanced period, it hardly begins to be 
properly understood. The name Puccinia is formed from a Greek word, 
which signifies " closely," or " tiiickly," and alludes to the crowded man- 
ner in which the minute fungi arc packed in the tufts and patches in which 
they grow. A stalk of wheat, when beginning to be mildewed, exhibits a 
number of dark-colored spots beneath the epidermis, some of an orange hue 
and others of a dark-brown tinge ; and, in a short time, it suffers ruptures 
and openings of the outer cuticle, and displays, in protrusion through these, 
dark, musty clusters of spores, amassed in dense, diffuse tufts, and often con- 
fluent into one another, so as to constitute long parallel lines, and commonly 
possessing at first a brownish-yellow color, and changing afterwards to black. 
Any intelligent person, with the aid of a proper microscope, and of a good 
brilliant light, may easily show to the farmer the forms and appearances of 
mildew. First strip off a little bit of the affected straw, and let it be viewed 
as an opaque object. The thick clustering of the spores might be easily 
pointed out, as well as the way in which they rapture the cuticle, — a half- 
inch achromatic object-glass, with a low eye-piece, will suffice for this ; 
with a higher power, and bits of cuticle and straw cut so thin that the light 
may easily be shown through them from the mirror, the siomata would be 
seen, and the vegetation of the spores on the mycetium in the cavitisa 
beneath them. Lastly, a small piece of one of the dark patches might be 
taken off with the point of a pin, or of a small penknife, and laid on a strip 
of glass. Moisten this with a little drop of water, and cover it with a small 
fragment of the very thin glass sold by opticians for such purposes. Place 
it on the stage of the microscope, show the light through it, and look at it 
with a quarter of an inch achromatic. The structure of the spores, the 
division of the chaml)ers, the stalks, and every part of them, will become 
distinctly seen. 

The Puccinia graminis affects, not wheat only, but other cereal grasses, 
and even several species of reeds ; and it is common to almost all countries 
in the world. A growth of it, when seen unmagnified upon the leaves of 
other plants, presents nearly the same appearance as on wheat, and may 
instantly be detected by an observer of it upon the latter. It may often be 
detected in the lower part of the stalk of wheat, — generally on the shoot-blade. 



THE GREAT DISEASES OF PLANTS. 609 

« 3arly as the second week of June ; but it never makes any very serious 
aj pearance, nor even atfords decided indication of being about to make any 
considerable devastation, till some time in July. If the weather in July be 
hot and dry, even though the fungus may have recently devastated the dis 
trict, it will seldom make an extensive or very hurtful development ; but if 
the weather in July be close, moist, and cloudy, even though the fungus 
may have been recently scarce in the district, it will possibly make a great, 
and somewhat sudden, and very menacing appearance. The farmer, in the 
latter case, ought diligently to examine his wheat crop, especially such as 
seems to be strongest and most luxuriant ; and if he detects any considerable 
number of tufts of the fungus upon the stalks, he ought promptly to bring 
into play such methods of treatment as have been found most effectual for 
subduing mildew. 

When the sporules of puccinia have entered the stomata of wheat, and 
efT^cted a lodgment beneath the epidermis, and begun to vegetate within the 
stalk, they both prey upon the tissues and intercept a portion of the sap 
which ascends from the spongioles of the roots for the forming and nourish- 
ing of the grain. But the exterior portion or sheath of the grain is 
generally formed before any considerable mildewing occurs ; and the period 
of the formation and growth of the inner portion, or farinaceous substance, or 
floitr, is precisely the period of the most general and vigorous development 
of the sporules into spores and full-grown fungi ; so that, usually in the 
proportion of the number of the fungi which infest a stalk, the grain becomes 
shriveled while growing, and contains comparatively much bran and little 
flour when reaped and threshed. The sample of a seriously mildewed crop 
of wheat, in every instance, looks poor to the eye, is deficient in flour, and 
contains a superabundance of bran. 

The Uredo linearis and Uredo rvbigo, though believed to be mere varieties 
of Pwccmia »rami/ii5, and though sometimes assuming appearances closely 
akin to those which are popularly called mildew, generally have different 
habits, and follow somewhat different laws, and take from the popular 
vocabulary of farmers the names of rust, red-rust, red-robin, red-rag, and red- 
gum. The U. linearis takes its name from the oblong form of its spores ; 
and the U. rubigo takes its name from its reddish-rusty color, and has nearly 
spherical spores. Both vary in color from an orange tint to a brov/'iish 
hue, and make the parts of plants infested with them to appear as if dusted 
with an orange or a brownish rustiness. They occur on the old or young 
leaves of the plants, on the chaff-scales, and on the stalks; and they infest 
the plants at all stages of their growth, and may 'oe reg.^rded as occurring 
principally on the young blades in spring, principally on the stalks when 
developed about the same time as the Puccinia graminis, or in mixture with 

20 



610 farmer's hand-book. 

it, and principally on the old leaves and on the glumes and paleae in autumn. 
Their presence in the chaff-scales is indicated by rows and clusters of some- 
what ovular minute spots; and the matter composing them exudes from the 
inner surface like a reddish gummy substance. A very destructive fungus 
attacks the common cabbage, and appears upon it as a mildew. It appears 
upon cabbage-leaves, in clusters resembling small white patches, or specks, 
or frosty incrustations. All the spores are filled with sporules, and burst 
when they are ripe, scattering t'lem in every direction ; and whenever these 
find their way to the leaves of cabbages, they take root upon them, and prop- 
agate. 

Provocatives, Preventives, and Correctives. — The extermination of Pmc- 
cijiia graminis, Urcdo linearis, and Uredo ruhigo, from any district or coun- 
try, seems to be impossible. But the mildew can manifestly be very greatly 
controlled, and, in an aggregate of years upon any farm, may be exceed- 
ingly diminished. The conditions of soil, of crop, of culture, and even of 
climate, which predispose to it, by either rendering it prolific, or giving 
high vivacity to its sporules, or producing an aptitude in the stomata of 
plants to imbibe them, or disposing the tissues and juices of the plant to 
foster and develop them, may be very powerfully modified by the skill and 
the arts of enlightened husbandry. A generally healthy state of the plant, 
without any over-luxuriance of vegetation, is most likely to secure a crop 
against the att;icks of the rust and mildew fungi ; but whatever tends to 
render the plant sickly, — whether it be excess of heat or cold, drought or 
wet, sudden changes of temperature, poverty of soil, over-manuring, shade, 
&c., &c., — must be considered as a predisposing cause to these diseases. 
Wherever the farming is of the best kind, and where drainage is good, the 
mildew fungus will not be found in any alarming degree. 

The mildew fungi multiply and flourish most in a moist atmosphere, in a 
subdued light, and in a gentle warmth ; and are therefore most abundant and 
destructive in climates and situations which are subject to what farmers ex- 
pressively call " muggy weather." This may appear, at first sight, to be a 
cause of mildew entirely beyond the control of farmers. Yet something may 
be done to escape it, by practising such methods of culture, and adopting such 
times of sowing, and using such varieties of seed-stock, as are best fitted to 
bring the crop into a state of the utmost possible maturity and vigor at tiie 
particular season when the moistness or mugginess is, on the average of years, 
most prevalent. Foggy weather, in some circumstances, seems to be even a 
stronger provocative to mildew than ordinary moist weather; and, when 
preceded by a time of great drought, occasions an unusually great mildew- 
ing of wheat crops. 

All soils are very seriously subject to mildew, yet some yield more readily 



THE GREAT DISEASES OF PLANTS. 611 

and abundantly to it than others. Tenacious clays seem to offer it the 
greatest resistance, and light moorish or light limy soils seem to offer it 
but slightly. The soils most liable to have their crops injured, particularly 
that of wheat, are the following, and in the order stated: — peat or moor, 
limy, limy loams, sand, sandy loams, and another kind not found in any 
great breadth, but in patches, chiefly, but not exclusively, in clayey soils, — 
the practical farmer calls it gray earth. Whatever has a tendency to check 
a quick and great loss of heat in the substances which surround vegetables, 
particularly their roots, will be best calculated to save them from the injury 
inflicted by sudden vicissitudes of temperature ; consequently, those earths 
which are the worst conductors of heat, or, in other words, are the longest 
in heating or cooling, will be the most favorable in resisting any sudden 
alteration, and the vegetable growing on them will be the least injured 
when so assailed. The improvement of light soils by abundant intermix- 
tures of clay, therefore, — in addition to the great advantages of better tex- 
ture and richer supply of inorganic food, — involves the benefit of appreciably 
and permanently diminishing liability to mildew. 

All varieties of wheat are seriously liable to mildew, but some are rather 
more liable than others. The white is generally the earliest affected, and 
the bearded or rivet is generally the latest. Any variety of wheat which 
has a comparatively soft epidermis is probably more subject to mildew than 
one with a comparatively hard epidermis. 

The time of sowing, regarded correlatively to the time of its maturing and 
to the principal time of mildewing, is important. Early-sown wheat-plants 
are more likely than late-sown ones to pass the time of blooming before 
being extensively attacked ; and when they can begin to form their seeds 
before the mildew sets in, they suffer far less damage from it, or are far less 
embarrassed and impoverished during the process of seeding, than if they 
w^ere attacked in an earlier stage of their growth. Late-sown plants, too, 
are green and sappy at the very season when the chills and fogs and courses 
of moist weather, which specially induce mildew, are most abundant ; and 
they are, therefore liable to be both vigorously and very extensively 
attacked. Yet, in some cases, early-sown crops, almost or quite as much 
as late-sown ones, are preyed upon by mildew. 

Rank or excessive manuring, or any combination of circumstances which 
occasions excessive luxuriance in a corn crop, both invites mildew, and 
greatly invigorates and spreads it. The application of farm-yard manure 
immediately before sowing may both make such an evolution of gases as to 
attract the sporules floating in the atmosphere, and promote such a tempo- 
rary plethoric growth in the crop as is eminently suited to the lodgment of 
fhe sporules and the development of the fungi. Excessive early luxuriance, 



612 farmer's hand-book. 

whether from immediate manuring, from over-richness of the soil, or from 
unusual forwardness and warmth in the weather, ought to be checked by 
feeding down with sheep during a few hours in the day-time, or by any other 
method which experience and local peculiarities may suggest. 

A clean or a foul state of the ground, during the early stages of the 
growth of a crop, has, in all cases, a great influence upon eventual mildewing ; 
weeds serve as nests of the mildew fungi, and nurse, and feed, and multiply 
them, preparatory to extensive and severe attacks upon the corn ; and, in all 
the early stages of the growth of drilled wheat, they ought to be completely 
kept down, and all the surface stratum of the soil, at the same time, kept in 
a perfectly sweet and well aerated condition, by the free use of the hoe. 
Mildew will seldom prevail to any extent where this precaution is taken ; 
but wherever there are many weeds on the land, the straw will be generally 
found more or less affected by it. 

Many methods have been recommended to prevent or destroy mildew ; 
but almost all of them are impracticable or worthless. A solution of com- 
mon salt, however, when applied, not to the soil, but to the crop itself, in 
the manner of either a vapor or a sprinkle bath, seems to kill the mildew 
fungus, and to operate, if not as a preventive against an attack of mildew, 
at least as a cure of actual mildew disease. The wheat on the seaside is 
little damaged by the mildew ; yet, within a very few miles inland, the crops 
are as much affected as those still further from the sea. The safest quantity 
of salt per gallon is eight ounces, and then the application may be rendered 
more effectual by frequent repetition, without any danger of injury to the 
plants. If the application is not made during a clouded day, it is best to 
defer it till the evening. 

As to the idea that the barberry has a considerable influence in the com- 
munication of the mildew to wheat, the conclusion arrived at by those who 
have investigated the matter, and whose judgment is entitled to respect, is, 
that no such influence is exerted or produced by that plant. 

POTATO ROT. 
Descriflion. — The murrain, or rot, or mildew, or whatever else the modem 
potato disease may be called, exhibits a great diversity of phenomena, and 
probably comprises many and wide sub-varieties of character. Itsgreatfeat- 
ures are commencement after the formation, or even towards the ripening, of 
the tubers, and total, irretrievable, putrefactive-looking decay of the whole 
plant. It is said by some persons to begin in the leaf, — by others, in the 
stem, — and by others, in the tubers ; it sometimes slowly works the plant 
o decay through a period of five or six weeks, and sometimes scathingly 
and scorchingly overwhelms it in the course of twenty-four hours, or in a 



THE GREAT DISEASES OF PLANTS. 613 

BingJe night; and, in not a few instances in which it seemed to have kept 
aloof from plants till they were harvested, it has burst out among- the tubers 
and rotted them in the pit. No descriptions of it, for the present race of 
cultivators, are needed ; and the very best descriptions of it which have 
been penned are tinged with theory, and controlled by its own diversities, 
and are therefore very conflicting ; yet two brief notices of it, by two of the 
most distinguished observei's, may he here recorded. That eminent Euro- 
pean agriculturist, Mr. George Phillips, gives it as his opinion that the 
stem is the part where it commences. He also says: — The first external 
appearance of disease was marked by a deepening of color, accompanied by 
an enlargement of the affected part, and succeeded by a weeping or exuda- 
tion. As the disease advanced, the part of the stem affected became soft 
and pulpy, and the color changed to a yellowish-brown. The stem was 
generally, if not universally, first affected at a joint, or the part from whence 
a lateral branch springs, and the leaves above the diseased part blackened, 
drooped, and died. Seven plants (says Mr. Phillips) were forwarded to 
me by a gentleman of great practical knowledge, and better specimens for 
the purpose could not be desired. The stems were all connected with the 
parent sets, so that the foliage, stems, young tubers, roots, and sets, were 
complete. The upper part of the stems and leaves of the diseased plants 
had the dull and heavy appearance so characteristic of the disease ; and 
nearly the whole of the stems were more or less affected at one or the other 
joints whence the lateral branches sprang from. In some of the plants the 
stem was most affected at a particular joint ; in others, the smallest branches 
and leaves were the most injured. No trace of fungi or insects was discov- 
erable in some of the affected stems beyond the immediate localities of the 
diseased joints. The disease in these cases had not extended itself, and was 
confined to a space not exceeding one inch of the length of the foot-stalk 
In other cases, the disease had spread both ways for a considerable distance 
from the wound, confining itself chiefly to the medulla. Fungi of the boleti 
and stellate kind were observable in all the diseased stems ; and at the parts 
where putrescence existed, the eel-like animalcula abounded. According 
to another learned observer, the disease usually commences in a semi-trans- 
parent blotch on the underground parts, which is formed by brown, shiny, 
extravasated fluid between the epidermis and inner bark, sometimes only on 
one side of the stem or roots ; and, if the soil becomes dry and the weather 
fair, it penetrates through the bark rather slowly, but progresses rapidly in 
a damp soil, with a close, humid atmosphere. Several of these blotches, in 
their transparent state, were marked, as soon as found, with bits of thread, 
and it was seen that, sooner or later, according to the circumstances above 
mentionud, they assumed a scurvy, opaque appearance outside ; but, by cut- 
52 



614 farmer's hand-book. 

tin|3f through this, the shiny fluid might generally be seen within. The 
blotches in the tubers change in a similar manner, and the progress of the 
gangrene in them is accelerated or retarded by the like circumstances. 
Similar blotches appear about the same time, or soon after, on the roots and 
cords. Sometimes, however, the leaves are blotched first of all. Many 
very large plants have been found with nearly every leaf and the stalks 
likewise blotched, the leaves being covered with botrytis, while the roots 
and lower parts of the stems remained quite clear ; but (says the same 
writer), I have never seen, until the 24th of October, diseased roots or 
cankered stems supporting healthy foliage. Hence it appears that the dis- 
ease does not uniformly originate in the underground parts, but that the 
plant is stricken throughout its system by an ungenial, or, rather, by a per- 
nicious state of the atmosphere, — the effects of which, as amongst animals, 
break out sometimes in one part and sometimes in another. As to the 
diseased tubers, at whatever time they were first affected, whether in the 
field or in the pit, many of them soon became rotten to the core ; others 
rotted in patches, and acquired an appearance similar to that of an apple 
bruised by a fall ; and a few, after being dried and carefully stored, ceased 
to be further injured. The diseased parts, in an advanced stage, commonly 
formed irregular ulcers, and emitted an offensive odor ; the parts around the 
eyes, in many instances, became mouldy ; and the part next the stem, in 
general, was the soonest and most severely affected. The tainted tubers 
were largely employed for the feeding of cattle and hogs, and are not 
reported to have done any injury to their health ; and, when boiled, their 
tainted portion, in its earliest stage, was sweet-tasted, and had a disagree- 
able smell. 

A report, in the Highland Society's Transactions, of special communica- 
tions from intelligent farmers in most of the affected districts of Scotland, in 
1845, affords the following observations : — The disease appeared chiefly in 
the latter part of August, and in September and October, yet broke out in 
some places in July, and did not break out in others till the tubers were 
lifted and stored ; the weather was prevailingly cold and ungenial, but no 
precise state of it could be identified with the breaking out of the disease ; 
early varieties, which were matured soon in the season, either escaped the 
disease, or were much less affected by it than the later varieties ; all varie- 
ties whatever, except the earliest ones, were more or less attacked, but in 
different degrees, and the varieties which escaped best were the Second 
Early, the Irish Cup, the American Early, and the Common Cup ; potatoes 
raised recently from seeds, in the great majority of cases, were as subject to 
the disease as those which had long been propagated from the tubers, and, 
in many cases, were even more subject to it, though this fact militates noth- 



THE GREAT DISEASES OF PLANTS. 615 

ing against the desirableness or necessity of raising new varieties from seed, 
but only shows that they must be raised with skill and caution, and under all 
the conditions which are essential to real re'invigoration ; the extent and pro- 
gress of the disease were but little influenced by either the previous culture, 
the nature of the soil, or the kind of manure ; the disease did not appear, at 
all events, to propagate itself by contagion, or to extend from diseased to 
sound tubers after they were taken from the ground ; the most effective 
store-heaps were found to be small or moderately-sized ones, not too heavily 
loaded with earth ; and mixtures of lime, or of other substances, with the 
potatoes in the heaps, were not found to be more beneficial than the old prac- 
tice of storing the potatoes alone, dry, and in good condition. 

Causes. — Many predisposing causes of the disease, both old and new, near 
and remote, have been assigned by theorists. Among the old ones are all the 
most remarkable which were ever at any time assigned for taint and curl, 
particularly degeneracy, over ripeness, bad storing, bad conditions of plant- 
ing, high manuring, atmospheric influence, and epidemic miasmata ; and 
some of these have also been regarded as special causes, or as immediately 
producing the virus, and defining the character of the disease. The chief 
of the newly-alleged predisposing causes were the wetness of the summer 
of 1844, the severe frost of Marcli 1845, the great heat of the fore part of 
the summer of 1845, the uncommon luxuriance of the crop, the use of some 
special manures, and a fancied novelty in the condition of the earth, or sub- 
terrane heat of the soil and sub-strata. But while some of the alleged pre- 
disposing causes were real enough, perhaps, and ought to suggest to all 
cultivators the necessity of care and wisdom in all time to come, others are 
either doubtful, vague, or wildly fantastical, and no two or more of tliem 
can at all account for the origination of the disease, or point to any specific 
or very promising remedy. The special causes assigned by various theo 
rists, including many of the most distinguished agriculturists, and phytolo- 
gists, and organic chemists, in the world, are as numerous, as conflicting, 
and, we might add, as aggregately uninstructive, as the alleged predisposing 
causes. We will, however, give a brief statement of those which are most 
remarkable for either their plausibleness, their learning, or the degree of 
public attention which they have excited. 

The abnormal chemical condition of the potato-plant, or the too early 
arrival of it to chemical maturity, is modestly and suggestingly stated by 
Mr. Fromberg as the most probable special cause. According to his 
views, every species of plant appears to require a certain definite proportion 
of substances in its organism, to make it operate regularly for its healthy 
growth. Too great a deviation, exceeding a certain maximum or minimum, 
will have an injurious influence upon the growth, by either accelerating or 
42 



616 farmer's hand-book. 

retarding it in too great a degree. As soon as, in a plant, both the parts 
that live in the air and those placed in the soil have obtained their proper 
quantity of constituents, the growth is completed. After that, it will take 
up nothing, or little more ; and being continually placed in the midst of sub- 
stances that are always in a state of decomposition, — which was before a 
requisition for the growth of the plant, — this state will, after the growth 
is completed, communicate itself to the plant and its constituents. This 
will be the case, even although the plant be perfectly sound (and we do 
well, therefore, to remove a product from the plant when ripe and full- 
grown), but much more rapidly when it is in a state of ill health. Both 
the want of activity of the cells and their contents when the growth is too 
languid, and their too great activity when the growth is too quick and 
strong, will predispose the plant to this chemical change. The altered 
energy of the action of the matter of which it is composed will continue 
after the growth has ceased, but now it will proceed in another direction ; 
all the peculiar properties and combinations of matter which present them- 
selves during lifetime, and on whose existence the vital actions depend, 
being now obtained and produced, another series of properties exhibit them- 
selves, and a number of other combinations is formed. If the growth has 
been too languid, these combinations, necessary for the performance of the 
vital functions, will not be produced in sufficient quantity, and the altered 
activity of matter will commence before the growth is completed. In case 
the growth were too rapid and strong, the same increased activity of matter 
will combine after the plant has reached its maximum of growth, but will 
now, of necessity, take another course ; the plant absorbing nothing more, 
and, consequently, vital action resting, decomposition sets in, and the degree 
of its action is entirely dependent upon the activity of matter, which again 
is determined by the quantity of substances fit for undergoing decomposition 
in a certain space, and upon the cooperation of temperature, air, and humid- 
ity. It might be of some importance to view, in connection with this, the 
early appearance of the disease in 1846, although it seems uncertain whether 
the time of ripening or full growth had also arrived sooner. It is a fact 
that diseased potatoes sprout with remarkable rapidity, whilst the experi- 
ments of some chemists show that perfectly sound potatoes remain in the 
soil without any signs of sprouting being perceptible. This fact does not 
contradict the above-mentioned idea, and will actually tend to corroborate it, 
if it may be proved, by experience, that diseased tubers, although producing 
plants that remain healthy for a time, will, however, make them inherit, as 
it were, their own unnatural rapidity and luxuriance of growth, and the 
consequences attending these. 

The oxidation of the debilitated tissues, the change of azotized matter in 



THE GREAT DISEASES OF PLANTS. 617 

the Stems, and the liability of the iiicrusting matter to undergo decomposi- 
tion, have been suggested by Dr. Playfair, the well known Dutch chemist, 
Mulder, and by others, as the most probable special causes. But the notion 
of oxidation by the agency of the air acting more freely upon the organic 
matter of the weakened cell-walls, does not certainly show a very great 
amount of physiological knowledge, which requires that the progress of ihe 
phenomena should be followed step by step, and which does not permit that 
the mentioning of final results, even if they were correct, should serve as 
an explanation. The theory of changes of azotized matter either has refer- 
ence to absolute decomposition or putrefaction, — and then it is closely allied 
to the oxidation theory, and partakes fully of its objectionableness, — or it 
refers to the transmutation of one nitrogenous proximate principle into an- 
other, and, in that case, it is contradicted by the doctrines of the protein 
compounds. And as to the liability of the incrusting matter to undergo 
decomposition, this, if at all probable, does not afford much explanation, and 
could scarcely serve to suggest means for recovery ; for the nature of the 
incrusting matter, and its relation to inorganic bases, are at present far too 
little known to found a theory on their pretended action. 

Putrescence, resulting remotely from atmospheric action, and proximately 
from internal chemical derangement, is supposed by Mr. Phillips to have 
been the cause. This theory somewhat combines the preceding ones with 
the theory of a series of predisposing causes, and addresses itself very plausi- 
bly to the understanding ; but it is by no means definite enough, and can 
scarcely, if at all, apply to the cases of sudden and overwhelming outbreak of 
the disease, and doss not perceptibly lead to any very obvious practical 
conclusion. Mr. P. states, in illustration of his theory, that the season was 
unusually cold, and was marked by a continual absence of sunshine, — that 
the disease was more fatal on heavy wet lands than on light dry lands, and 
generally more so on wet soils than on dry soils, — that exhalation and 
evaporation were at a low point during the months of July and August, — 
that the plants generally throve till after the cold and wet weather set in, and 
did not indicate prevailing unhealthiness till after it had continued about two 
months, — and that, at the time when the most unfavorable weather appeared, 
the late plants were in full work, and were forming their tubers : and he 
adds, that a plant cannot elaborate its products without the direct action of 
the sun's rays; and when the vital principle ceases its action, even tempo- 
rarily, a chemical one commences by an oxidation of the carbon and a liber- 
ation of carbonic acid, and if this action continue, ammonia is formed. What 
is the effect of this? If ammonia be formed in a nlant like the potato, which 
in its normal state is acid, we hanre not only a subversion of tlie condition of 
the juices, but we have also an agent eijual to efl:ect all that we have seen in 
62* 



618 farmer's hand-book. 

the disease. But the change is a work of time in the plant, and necessarily 
involves many phases. 

A species of botrytis, which had not been before ol)served, and which liaa 
been variously called 5. infestans, B.fallax and B. devastatrix, was supposed, 
by Professor Morren, of Liege, and by many others, to be the special cause. 
Some supposed the fungus to develop itself from the interior or cellular 
tissue, and to extend its ramifications through the pores or stomata in such 
a way as to close them completely up, and to make the plant die from want 
of perspiration and absorption ; others supposed it to make a lodgment by its 
sporules from without, to feed upon the plant in the manner of an external 
parasite, and to rob it to exhaustion of its nourishing sap ; and others, witiiout 
troubling themselves to explain either its habits, its nature, or the chemistry 
of its action, supposed it to do its deadly work simply as a poisoner of the 
plant's juices. When first observed, the fungus was said to thrive only on 
the living leaves of the potato-plant, sparing even the stems ; but afterwards 
it was seen to attack both the stems and the tubers ; and soon, and far and 
wide, it could not be traced at all in some diseased plants, and was not 
traceable in others till after the disease was obviously established. The. 
theory of the tungus was by tar the most popular one m 1845, and made the 
learned part of the agricultural world ring with talk about Botrytis infestans, 
but it was speedily discovered to be fallacious, and is now universally aban- 
doned. Yet, though the botrytis was not tlie cause of tlie disease, it was 
generally a very close attendant on it ; and, under peculiar conditions of the 
atmosphere, it undoubtedly acts as a very powerful agent in accelerating the 
decay and havoc which the disease begins. 

A number of insects — particularly Eupterix solani, Eupterix picta, Thrips 
minutissima, Ceraphron carpenteri, a molohrus, an attica, a smynthurus, and 
several aphides — were supposed, by various close observers, to be either 
originators of some forms or accompaniments of the disease, or powerful 
accelerators of its general progress. Swarms of some of them seem un- 
doubtedly to have infested tlie potato crop, — probably to a degree far 
greater than ever before occurred ; and, though not at all likely, in even one 
instance, to have originated the disease, they must have seriously aggravated 
it, and perhaps sometimes complicated it, by puncturing the plant's organs, 
abstracting its juices, and laying it widely open to chemical disarrangement, 
fungal lodgment, and atmospheric action. A particular theory, however, 
selected the Aphis rapoe or Aphis vastalor, as the grand depredator, and even 
cried it up as the certain and sole parent of the whole. This theory was the 
most popular one in England in 1846 ; insomuch that, for months together, 
multitudes talked incessantly of the aphis, and seemed to have gone into an 
aphis-mania, and would not listen to another theory. Yet, though both facta 



THE GREAT DISEASES OF PLANTS. 619 

and philosophy now pour derision on this theory, they fully admit every 
abounding aphis to be very mischievous, and loudly warn all cultivators to 
adopt every preventive or remedial means against it in their power. 

Common canker, or vegetable gangrene, exactly similar to the canker of 
fruit-trees, and to the " damping " or " shanking off" of badly-wintered cauli- 
flowers, and of cucumbers and melon-plants, is believed, by the eminent Mr. 
Graham, to have been the true cause. According to him, the potato-plant, 
having been rendered partially inert by the repellent action of cold, wet, and 
gloomy weather, uncongenial to its nature as an exotic from a warm climate, 
at that critical period of its growth when in the coarse of ordinary seasons it 
would have been about to acquire a strength and hardness, but during which 
time it was incapable of perfectly evaporating its redundant juices, for want 
of sunshine, — they accumulated in consequence, and became vitiated by 
stagnation in that crude state ; and when fine hot weather ensued afterwards, 
the sudden rush of sap was too great for its debilitated tissues, and the dis- 
eased fluid showed itself at the surface in various places, on the leaves and 
stalks, sometimes in spots not larger than a pin"s head, at others in blotches, 
M hich rapidly increased if the stimulus of heat was kept up ; and the virus 
of these spots, being of an ulcerous nature, eventually descended into the 
potatoes. The only effectual remedy, if it may be so called, is to pull up 
the haulm entirely, as soon as the disease has seized on the stalks ; cutting 
off the haulm will not be so effectual, in many instances, as the lower parts 
of the stalk are often as bad as the upper parts. After all, however, Mr. 
Graham himself admits that the disease sometimes begins in the tubers, and 
even states that it usnally commences in the underground parts. 

A peculiar atmospheric action, similar to what produces influenza in man, 
is supposed by Liebig and Klotzsch to be the special cause. Liebig, in hia 
work on the Motions of the Fluids in the Animal Body, after explaining the 
great importance of the cutaneous and pulmonary transpiration to the life 
and health of animals, goes on to contend that in plants the transpiration 
from the leaves is the chief cause, aided by the pressure of the atmosphere, 
of the motion of the sap. He then refers to the old but valuable researches 
of Hales, who demonstrated the importance, as well as the extraordinary 
power, of the transpiration of plants, and explained the frequent blight in 
hops, and other plants, by the action of an atmosphere saturated with moist- 
ure, and therefore unfit to support transpiration, in suppressing the transpi- 
ration from the leaves, and thus arresting the motion of the sap, which tlien 
putrefies and leads to the death of the plant. The putrid sap becomes a fer- 
tile soil for the seeds of microscopic plants, fungi, &c., and these are further 
propagated by seed, so that the »oil may become infested by them. Liebig 
tlien proceeds to contend that the potato-plant is one of those which, like the 



620 farmer's hand-book. 

hop, suflbrs greatly from suppressed or impeded transpiration ; and that the 
potato rot has long been known, and was even very accurately described by 
Parmentier, who introduced the potato into France ; but that the peculiar 
atmospheric condition to which he ascribes the disease had never till of 
late years occurred over whole countries, but only locally. He considers 
the real cause of the disease to be an atmosphere loaded with moisture and 
cold, these being the conditions most unfavorable to evaporation ; and he 
shows that in 1845, and 1846, when the disease overran Europe, damp, 
cold, and rainy weather followed heat and drought, just at the period of the 
most luxuriant growth of the potatoes. This state of the atmosphere he 
considers to be the same as that which causes influenza in the human subject, 
by suppressing the cutaneous transpiration. He further shows that the very 
life of a plant depends on the resistance it offers to the destructive influences 
of the atmosphere ; and that the life and health of plants depend on the 
equilibrium of external causes, only one of which, — the state of the soil, — is 
much in the power of the agriculturist. One day, or a few degrees of cold, 
may be decisive as to the life or death of a plant ; so that it is of the utmost 
importance to strengthen the plant, so as to enable it to resist the external 
influences tending to destroy it. Now, Dr. Klotzsch has come to similar 
conclusions, — and shows that, as the potato is cultivated for its tubers, there 
is a great loss of nutrient matter if it be allowed to form flowers and fruit ; 
and he concludes that if this be prevented, the nutrient matter will be sent in 
the direction of the tubers and roots, and thus the plant will be strengthened, 
and enabled to resist disease. He proposes, therefore, when the plants are 
from six to nine inches above ground, to pinch off the ends of the stems and 
branches for half an inch only downwards from the point, and to repeat this 
four weeks later. In some experiments made by him, in which the alternate 
rows were treated in this way, the result was, that the rows not so treated 
were straggling and sickly, and had scabby tubers, liable to rot ; while the 
rows so treated were bushy, luxuriant, dark-green, with very numerous 
tubers, clean, and free from all disease whatever. But whatever may be 
thought of the remedy, or however fair or deserving a subject of experiment 
it may be as to the general strengthening of the potato-plant, the alleged 
cause seems a great deal more than doubtful. To say nothing of grave 
physiological objections to it, the very facts on which it rests are contested. 
A diminution of temperature to the extent of six or eight degrees is exceed- 
mgly trivial, and must often have occurred in former years, when this disease 
did not occur. Nor is the potato-plant of so delicate a texture as to be unable 
to stand much greater diminution and irregularities of temperature than what 
occurred in 1845. The fact that it grows equally well in the Shetland Isles, 
with an average temperature of 46 3, or even in hot-houses, with a temperature 



THE GREAT DISEASES OF PLANTS. 621 

of thirty or forty degrees higher, must satisfy any one that the temperature of 
1845, though undoubtedly lower than usual, and irregular in its progression, 
cannot account for the failure. The heat of 1846, too, when the disease was 
more virulent and extensive than in 1845, instead of being below the average, 
was actually a little above it ; and the fall of rain, as ascertained at a great 
many places, though unusually fitful, and sometimes exceedingly heavy, was 
not aggregately much above the average, and did not anywhere produce an 
excess of cloudiness, or any material excess of moisture. 

An atmospheric influence of some less specific or more diffusive kind than 
that contended for by Liebig and Klolzsch has been regarded by many dis- 
tinguished British agriculturists as the cause. But the views entertained 
respecting it are at once various, conflicting, and vague. Some say that it 
was merely a decrease in the temperature about the time of ripening of the 
tuber, by which this disease was caused. Now, in 1846, it returned at a 
much earlier period than in 1845. Was the time of ripening hastened 1 and if 
so, by what cause ? And is there any evidence that such a decrease in tem- 
perature took place in 1846? or that it existed everywhere in 1845? Other 
defenders of the same theory assume that it was the sudden change of wet 
and cold to hot weather by which this calamity was occasioned ; and 
others state, in addition, that the unripe condition of the seed from the 
former year, and the protracted cold of the ensuing winter, preventing the 
due preparation of the land, were either the aggravating or the chief causes 
of the disease. Did these circumstances occur in 1846, and were they 
general wherever the disease prevailed ? If we further come to the man- 
ner in which this atmospheric influence is said to have acted, then we meet 
again several vague expressions, and find that unproved things are laken 
for granted. Some speak of the organism of the potato having become 
repleted with moisture, and, therefore, the pores being checked by some 
of the above circumstances, exceedingly liable to undergo putrefaction. 
Others are of opinion, that one constituent of the organism of the potato has 
been produced to the disadvantage, at the expense of, or at least in greater 
proportions than the others ; and that this, no matter in what way, has been 
the cause of a weakened organism, and consequently of the disease. Others, 
again, explain the action of the atmosphere as merely serving as a vehicle to 
myriads of minute seeds of fungi, which, when the air is in a comparative 
rest, should be enabled to enter into the minute pores or stomata, which 
exist chiefly on the surface of the leaves. This is merely a modification of 
the fungal theory. 

Some miasmatic substance, or deleterious gas, or other subtle and 
unusual body in the atmosphere, is supposed, by Count Gasparin, Milne, 
and others, to have been the cause. The principal, real, or alleged lacts. 



622 farmer's hand-book. 

appealed to in support of this theory, are that the disease was averted from 
some localities by screens, shelter, and other means of protection from the 
external air, — that, in the successive years of its ravages, it moved off from 
some districts and countries, and made invasion upon others, — that, during 
the summer and autumn of 1840, it broke out, in a progress from south to 
north, on the continent and in Great Britain, as if it proceeded in a some- 
what regular march, — and that it did not attack portions of fields which 
were exposed to the smoke of steam-engines and of copper-works. It is 
inferred from the last of these facts that the noxious substance was some 
acrid gas or vapor capable of being neutralized or altered in its nature by 
chlorine, common smoke, and the fumes of arsenious and sulphurous acids ; 
and, in support of this view, an experiment of Professor Christison is cited 
showing that sulphurous-acid gas, when mixed with atmospheric air in the 
minute proportion of one part to nine thousand, injures the leaves of a 
mignonstte, of a laburnum, and of a larch-tree, placed in it for forty 
hours. But, though the gaseous or miasmatic theory accords well with 
some of the phenomena and circumstances, it seems violently incompatible 
with others. A peculiar state of the electricity of the atmosphere is sup- 
posed by some persons to have been the cause. Electricity is now known 
to act a powerful part in all normal vegetation ; ordinary electricity acts 
constantly, in seeming concurrence with all the chemical processes of 
decomposition and recombination, both upon plants and within them ; 
extraordinary electricity, or great and sudden disturbances of the normal 
electric conditions of the atmosphere, or of the normal relations between the 
electricity of the air and the electricity of the earth, seem to produce effect3 
analogous to those of either invigorating or overwhelming excitement ; and 
the electric phenomena of a large portion of the period of both 1845 and 
1846, throughout which the potato disease broke out and spread, were not a 
little remarkable for at once singularity, unsettledness, violence, and aggre- 
gate duration. The results of an experiment in electro-culture, reported to 
the Royal Dublin Society, were also most arresting ; — the rods had been 
put up, according to Dr. Forster's method, in a remote part of a potato-field, 
in order to test their effect upon the invigoration of the crop, — and they 
were afterwards neglected or forgotten, in consequence of the apparent seizure 
of the whole field with the potato disease ; — but when the spot which they 
protected came eventually to be examined, all the potatoes in it were found 
to be sound and excellent, while those of the rest of the field had died and 
rotted. Other remarkable facts, directly ascribable to electric influence, or 
apparently resulting from it, or controlled by it, were observed ; and several 
theories corresponding to them, but widely differing as to both the modvs 
operandi of the electric influence and the most suitable or effective means 



THE GREAT DISEASES OF PLANTS. 623 

of averting deleterious effects, were formed and advocated, and have been 
received more or less extensively as plausible. The present state of scien- 
tific knowledge, however, is far too obscure to enable any man to follow out 
a speculation on the supposed connection of peculiar electric conditions with 
the originating of disease in plants ; and the utmost which the speculation 
about electricity and the potato can do, is to suggest a hope, (hat in some 
more advanced stage of the rapidly-careering progress of scientific discovery, 
a subject which is now so mysterious and bewildering may come to be per- 
fectly explained. 

Remedies. — We have now gone over all the chief and most plausible 
theories ; and, since the result is unmixed uncertainty or utter confusion, we 
might seem to have had all our labor for worse than nothing. But, when it is 
seen how entirely the most distinguished savans have been baflled, and how 
completely all science and experience and observation have been stultified, by 
the potato disease, all persons must readily assent to the suggestion that 
the potato can no longer be depended on as an extensive and staple article of 
sustenance for the human family, and that its loss must be made up by the 
substitution of another and more reliable vegetable production. Whatever 
others may say or think, it is certain that, until the cause of this disease is 
known, no efficacious remedy can reasonably be expected to be found. It 
is the department of science to proceed from fixed points, from causes into 
eflfects ; and every other way is hardly deserving of any other name than that 
of empiricism. We would go further still, and say, that even although the 
cause were duly known, however indispensable this may be, we could not, 
however, from the defective state of our knowledge of the physiology and 
pathology of plants, undertake the cure with tlie same confidence of success 
with which the physician places himself before his patient, to attack and 
overcome an illness. But still, without being acquainted with the cause of 
the disease, a variety of remedies will be tried in vain, and, what is worse, 
remedies which may easily injure a plant which has frequently been 
unnaturally cultivated. The steeping in dilute sulphuric acid, dusting 
with liuie and gypsum, the application of sulphate of copper, arsenic, &c., 
may prove beneficial for the moment; but how all this will affect or alter 
the nature of the potato, it is only for future experience to make out. Such 
kinds of treatment will be resorted to, if we proceed upon the belief that a 
fungus acts as the cause of the disease. The purpose is to kill the enemy ; 
but does one always sufficiently consider that the injury intended for it may 
not also affect its victim? But if we adhere to the opinion that the unfavor- 
able state of the weather has been the direct cause of the disease, by — no 
matter in what way — altering the functions of the plant, then there is cer- 
tainly something true in Morren's remark, that this theory, in point of 



624 FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 

curing the disease, is dangerous in its effects upon the mass of farmers, 
who, being powerless against such an enemy, may easily fall into that siat^' 
of indifference which in former times was loo characteristic of their class. 
The remedy which results from the application of the epidemic theory 
seems certainly to be entirely in the power of the farmer, without being 
attended with the injurious effects that may follow from the attempt of 
destroying the parasite directly, — we mean the enclosure of the potato- 
fields, to prevent the supposed introduction of the imagined seeds of the 
parasites by currents of air. Yet, if this remedy, as is likely, might prove 
ineffectual, the opportunity of preserving the crop is gone, and the evil will 
rage on undisturbed. But there is something more reasonable in the idea, 
to turn the whole attention to the diseased plant itself, — to allow those 
plants to be lost that are hopelessly attacked, to be cautious in attempting 
to employ the le|p diseased for seed, and to be satisfied with employing 
what has hitherto escaped, either of fine or of coarse varieties. If this be 
accompanied with judicious cultivation, — if sound seed, chiefly from 
varieties that have suffered least, be planted in soils similar to those where 
the disease has least prevailed, — and if the methods be imitated of those 
who have had small or moderate, but comparatively sound crops, — as well 
in regard to treatment, kind and quantity of manure, and period of applica- 
tion, as to depth of planting, distance between the plants, and time and 
mode of cutting, — then something is put into the power of the farmer, 
which, being faithfully copied from the prescriptions of nature, may justify 
the persevering man in expecting a slow but gradual and continual remedy, 
and recovery of what has been lost. 

A method was discovered, about the year 1840, by M. Zander, of evading 
the attacks of all potato diseases, by raising full-grown tubers from seed in 
one season ; and this method was reported by Mr. Hogan to the meeting 
of the British Association at Oxford, and was ascertained, from his personal 
observation of it in two widely separated localities in Germany, to have 
proved perfectly efficient as respected its yearly or current success, yet wasi 
declared to need confirmation and improvement, by many experiments, in 
various places, and under various circumstances, before it could be relied 
on for rendering seedlings healthy or disease-proof, in years subsequent to 
their being produced. The statement of M. Zander himself, in his own 
language, is as follows : — I first raised potatoes from seed seven years ago. 
I sowed an eighth of an ounce, and obtained nearly seven sacks of full- 
grown, perfectly sound potatoes, although in the same year almost all the 
potatoes in the same neighborhood were affected by pock-mark and dry-rot. 
I have regularly raised potatoes from seed ever since, and they have remained 
sound during the whole time ; and in the year 1845 when the disease had 



THE GREAT DISEASES OF PLANTS. 625 

spread over all Europe, and attained the greatest virulence in this neighbor- 
hood, those potatoes which I had previously raised from seed, as well as 
those of the preceding year, continued perfectly exemi»t from disease. I 
have given potatoes raised from seed toothers, and those have also remained 
perfectly free from the universally prevailing disease. From an ounce of 
seed may be raised upwards of fifty ordinary-sized sacks of potatoes. The 
seed is saved in the following manner : the berries should be gathered in 
autumn, before the frost sets in, and be preserved in a dry place, where frost 
cannot reach them, until the end of January, when the berries should be 
broken by the hand, and placed in a tub or other vessel, for six or eight 
days, to ferment ; water should then be thrown on them and well stirred, in 
order to separate the pulp and husks from the seed, which should then be 
dried and cleaned, and kept in a warm, dry place, u-ntil the middle of March. 
At the latter time, or in the beginning of April, the seed should be thinly 
eown in a hot-bed, and by the middle of May there will be fine healthy 
plants, which may be put out into the field ; care should be taken to put 
them out before they form tubers, and the seed-bed should be kept moder- 
ately moist while they remain in it. Tiiey should be planted out after rain, 
and be put at about the same distance from one another as potatoes gener- 
ally stand in the field. 

SMUT. 

Description. — This is a disease of the ears of growing grain, filling the 
grain with a fine, sooty-looking powder, in the room of farina. It arises 
entirely from two minute coniomycetous fungi, — the Urcdo segelmn and the 
Uredo foetida ; but it attacks all sorts of corn grain, and presents a great diver- 
sity of appearance, and bears a number of popular names, and has been erro- 
neously ascribed, by all classes of cultivators, to a great diversity of causes. 
Some farmers, seeing only a very few ears of a crop perceptibly aflected with 
smut, regard the evil as of small consequence, and are totally unaware that 
when no more than one smutted ear can be found in a sheaf, the straw of 
the apparently sound plants may want so much as one third of its average 
weight, and the grain so much as three sevenths ; and other farmers, who 
may have a correct opinion enough of the mischievousness of smut, are so 
misled by false notions of its cause, as either to reject all suitable prevent- 
ives and remedies of it, or to adopt them empirically, and without sufficient 
confidence and vigor. 

Causes and Phenomena. — Some of the many err(>neous causes which have 
been assigned for smut have no connection with it whatever ; and others 
are mere contingencies, which either aggravate its symptoms or accelerate 
its progress. One alleged cause is, deficient fecundity, in consequence either 
of the pollen being washed away with rains, or of its undergoing some 
&3 2p 



626 farmer's hand-book. 

chemical change of a putrefactive nature ; but smut is found to affect the 
organs of fructification, and either to impair or to destroy them, long before 
the pollen can be formed. Another alleged cause, sanctioned, long ago, by 
the distinguished Jethro Tull, is humidity of the atmosphere, or the preva- 
lence of fogs, or the bursting out of intense sunshine while the crop is in a 
moist condition ; but this notion has been disproved by some carefully con- 
ducted appeals to experiment, and is disproved also by the general fact that 
smut is sometimes observable in an early stage of the plant's vegetation, long 
before it has escaped from the leafy envelopes. A third alleged cause is, 
excessive moistness of the soil, — and certainly this, though not a cause, is a 
very powerful provocative, insomuch that well-drained and thoroughly aerated 
soils are incomparably freer from attacks of smut than wet ones ; but the 
disease occurs on even the driest land, and may often be observed as rife in 
the dry parts of a field as in the wet parts. A fourth alleged cause, sanc- 
tioned by such names as Somerville, Walker, and Linnaeus, is the hatching 
and feeding of minute insects ; but this opinion has been refuted by express 
and searching observation, and may be exploded also by the general fact 
that acari and aphides, and other minute insects, feed more or less on all sorts 
of plants, whether affected by smut or not, and almost always abound on 
decaying vegetable matter, or on plants which are in a diseased or enfeebled 
condition. A fifth alleged cause is, the abrasion of the seed-corn in the 
process of threshing ; but seeds threshed in exactly the samt way run to 
smut in some seasons, and do not run to it in others ; and numerous grains 
of wheat of different sizes have been experimentally bruised with a ham- 
mer, previous to sowing, and have not been found to produce smutted plants. 
A sixth cause alleged is, monstrosity of embryo ; but male flowers, or male 
parts of flowers, as well as female ones, are liable to smut, and they have no 
embryo. A seventh alleged cause is, deficiency of nourishment, occasioned 
by poverty of soil, or by crowdedness of crop ; but diseases closely akin to 
smut attack the fructification of some perennial plants, whose roots and 
stems, from year to year, are so vigorous as to indicate the presence of 
an\ple nutrition. An eighth alleged cause is, fermentation within the ears 
of corn, occasioned by natural humidity, or by excessive slowness of devel- 
opment and deficiency of evaporation ; but, if this were a true cause, it 
would account for the appearance of smut only after the seeds begin to be 
formed, and might be expected always to produce the disease in far greater 
extent than it is generally found to exist. Most other alleged causes are 
akin to some of those already named, or are exceedingly fanciful, or con- 
found smut with some other and widely different diseases. 

The two species of fungi which produce smut, or whose spores constitute 
llie fine, powdery, sooty-looking substance of the disease, possess a some- 



THE GREAT DISEASES OF PLANTS. 627 

what close resemblance to each other, and are usually described under one 
general name ; yet not only have they separate specific characters, but they 
make specifically different developments in grain plants, and produce essen- 
tially different economical effects on crops ; and they therefore require to 
be separately studied, and distinctively understood. The Uredo segetum is 
much more minute than most other coniomycetous fungi which attack gra- 
mineous plants ; and, in particular, is not half the size of Uredo fxtida. Its 
spores are so extremely small that not fewer than seven millions eight hun- 
dred and forty thousand would be required to cover one square inch. It first 
BO injures the interior portions of the flowers of the plants which it attacks 
as to render them abortive ; it next makes the pedicels or little stalks of the 
florets swell and become very fleshy ; it next consumes the whole of this 
fleshy mass ; and it finally comes through the epidermis, and appears be- 
tween the chaff-scales in the form of a black, soot-like powder, and looks as 
if adhering, by means of some gummy substance, to the young ear. It oper- 
ates alike on wheat and barley and oats, and is essentially the same in 
them all ; but it differs widely in aggregate coherence upon wheat and 
barley, — and differs also in the microscopic appearance of its spores, — but 
probably owes the differences entirely to the different action of the matrices 
in which it grows. It commonly attains maturity some weeks before the 
crop which it infests is ready for the sickle ; and it then is a light, loose 
powder, resembling very fine lampblack, and is swept away and scattered 
by the winds, so that, even when it has made great havoc upon a crop, it is 
seldom seen to any considerable extent at the time of harvest. It has some- 
times been found to attack the leaves and the culms of corn-plants ; but, in 
general, it attacks only the ear, and this it completely destroys. It is com- 
paratively rare in wheat, and does not seem to occur at all in rye ; but is 
very common in barley, and still more so in oats. It has also been observed 
in several of the forage grasses. Some farmers absurdly think that a little 
of it in the barley crop is a good sign ; and most regard it as far less mis- 
chievous than Undo faelida. But, in so far as it exists, it is always and 
entirely a desolating evil ; and it both escapes tlie observation of superficial 
observers, and eludes some of the common methods of preventing or extir- 
pating it, by the early maturation and profuse dispersion of its spores ; and 
though really a less evil, comparatively, than Uredo foetida, it is a much 
greater one absolutely than most farmers suppose. 

Grain containing some mixture of smut has not been observed to injure 
fowls who eat it ; and yet, the straw of smutted plants is asserted to be dis- 
tasteful to cattle. The effect of tlie fungus upon the wholesomeness of crops, 
in fact, is little understood, and does not seem to have been tested by any 
good publislied experiments ; yet it may be pretty closely estimated by 



628 farmer's hand-book. 

reference to the known chemical composition of smutted grain. Chemical 
analysis has demonstrated that the Un-do segetum effects an entire decom- 
position of the vegetable constituents of the grain it infects, the saline con- 
stituents of the grain remaining nearly unaltered. Parmentier, Cornet, 
Girod Chautrans, Fourcroy, and Vauguelin, have successively examined it; 
and the result of their researches is, that smutted grains of wheat are com- 
posed, first, of about one third their own weight of a green, butyraceous, 
fetid, and acrid oil ; second, nearly one fourth of a vegeto-animal sub- 
stance, perfectly similar to that which comes from putrid gluten ; third, a 
black coal, one fifth of their weight, similar to that which is found in all 
remnants of putrefied organic compounds; fourth, free phosphoric acid, 
amounting scarcely to more than .004 of the smut, — and fifth, phosphates of 
ammonia, magnesia, and lime, in the proportions of a few thousandths. It 
is stated that, in one examination of putrefied gluten, characters were found 
very similar to those of the smut of wheat ; and that the products of the one 
are so like those of the other, as to render it difficult, in certain cases, not 
to confound them together. It requires a man to be well practised in chem- 
ical experiments, to discern the slight differences that exist between these 
two putrefied matters, because the differences are only delic .te shades, not 
easily discernible. The contagion attacks especially the gluten, and 
precedes, — indeed, prevents, — the formation of the starch ; since we know 
positively that this fecula, no traces of which are found in the smut of wheat, 
suffers no alteration from that septic process, which so powerfully attacks 
the glutinous substance. 

The Uredo fcctida occurs only in the srain of wheat, and is a well-known 
and much dreaded disease. It may be detected in the young seed, even in 
the very earliest states of the flower-bud ; and when fully ripe, it most 
frequently occupies the whole interior of the grain. The earliest period at 
which M.Bauer discovered it within the cavity of the ovule of a young plant 
of wheat was sixteen days before the ear emerged from the base, and about 
twenty days before the sound ears, springing from the same root, were in 
bloom. At that early stage, the inner cavity of the ovum is very small, 
and, after fecundation, is filled with the albumen or farinaceous substance of 
the seed, and already occupied by many young fungi, which, from their jelly- 
like root or spawn, adhere to the membrane which lines the cavity, and 
from which they can be easily detached, in small flakes, with that spavi^n. 
In that state, their very small pedicels may be distinctly seen. At first, the 
fungi ure of a pure white color, and when the ear emerges from its base, 
the ovum is much enlarged, but still retains its original shape ; and, the 
fungi rapidly multiplying, many of them have then nearly come to maturity, 
assumed a dark color, and, having separated from the spawn, lie loose in 



THE GREAT DISEASES OF PLANTS. 629 

the cavity of the ovum. The infected grains continue growing, and tlie 
fungi continue to multiply, till the sound grains have attained their maturity 
and full size, when the infected grains are easily distinguished from the 
sound ones, hy their being generally larger and of a darker green color ; 
and, if opened, they appear to be filled to excess with these dark-colored 
fungi. But the grains infected with the Uredo faztida very rarely burst, and 
these fungi are seldom found on the outside of the grain ; but if a grain 
be bruised, they readily emit their offensive smell, which is worse than that 
from putrid fish. When the sound grains are perfectly ripe and dry, and 
assume their light-brown color, the infected grains also change, but to a 
soinewhat darker brown, retaining, however, the same shape which the 
ovum had at its formation, the rudiments of the stigma also remaining un- 
altered. The spores which fill the grain constitute a fine, black, disgust- 
ing, fetid powder, and amount to about four millions in a single grain, and 
may be easily distinguished and examined through a microscope, and have 
then the appearance of articulated globules growing in a bundled manner 
upon threads ; but the sporules which they contain, and which propagate 
the smut in the same general way in which seeds propagate phenogamous 
plants, are so surpassingly minute as to be scarcely distinguishable under 
very high powers of the microscope, appearing then only like a faint cloud 
or vapor in a puify escape from the spores. 

The Uredo faztida not only destroys all the grains or plants which it 
directly attacks, but greatly deteriorates the value of the sound part of the 
general crop. The disgusting odor which it emits may be perceived on 
passing through a field where it prevails ; and becomes cohesive to the 
fingers, and intolerable to tlie sense, when an infected ear or two are broken 
in the hand ; and diffuses itself sufficiently through the sound grains, by the 
contacts of growing and harvesting, to render the flour made from them 
perceptibly malodorous, and comparatively unfit for bread. Ready purchas- 
ers, however, are found among the manufacturers of gingerbread, &c., in 
some countries, who have discovered that the treacle, and whatever else 
they mix up with it, effectually disguise the odor of the fungus ; and while 
such a mode of employing the tainted flour would be perfectly unobjection- 
able if the odor were innoxious, it becomes censurable and wicked when 
good reason exists for suspecting the odor to be seriously unwholesome. 

The sporules of both Uredo scgetuni and Urcdo fcetida were long believed 
and have been proved to find their way into corn-plants, by entering their 
spongioles with the moisture, and ascending their interior with the sap. 
There is little doubt, according to Johnson, but that the mode in which 
smut is imparted to the plant ifi by its roots imbibing the extremely minute 
seeds of the fungus along with the moisture of the soil ; and this opinion is 
53* 



630 faemer's hand-book. 

confirmed by the observation that the dise'^se is most prevalent when the 
winter has been mild, and the spring wet, — for in such seasons the abundant 
moisture passing through the soil is most likely to convey the seeds 1o the 
mouths of the plant's radical fibres. The distinguished Mr. Sidney 
remarks, that, though the surmise of most observers has been that the 
sporules enter by the roots and circulate in the plant, still, no one has yet 
seen them grow ; nor would this be the normal mode of growth. The 
spores themselves are undoubtedly too large to enter either by the stomata 
of the leaves or the spongioles of the roots. Some ingenious experiments 
have been made, that appear to establish the theory that these contents of 
the spores do enter the plant in the way suspected, and grow. The mode 
of proceeding was to immerse some seeds of wheat in water containmg bunt. 
One of the first appearances was a curious mould, with peculiar spores, that 
sprung upon the spores of bunt. The plants which came up from these 
seeds were evidently affected ; but no communication whatever could be 
traced between the cells of these plants and the shoots thrown out by the 
spores. No intrusion whatever of the mycelium developed by the bunt- 
spores into the wheat could be discovered. Tliis looks, therefore, as if the 
fine contents of the spores do certainly propagate the fungus. Professor 
Henslam states, that, although the bunt-fungus confines its attacks to the 
young seed, it seisms to be a condition essential to its propagation that it 
should be introduced into the plant during the early stages of its growth, and 
that its sporules are most readily absorbed by the root during the germina- 
tion of the seed from which the plant has sprung. It has been clearly 
proved that wheat-plants may be easily infected, and the disease thus prop- 
agated, by simply rubbing the seeds, before they are sown, with the black 
powder, or spores, of the fungus. It is also as clearly ascertained that, if 
seeds thus tainted be thoroughly cleansed, the plants raised from them will 
not be infected ; and this fact is now so well established, that the practice 
of washing or steeping seed-wheat in certain solutions almost universally 
prevails. 

Preventives. — The chief preventive of smut in wheat is the steeping of the 
seed-corn in some suitable solution. The spores which, at the time of thresh- 
ing, are dispersed from smutted ears in the form of a fine powder, and which 
attacii themselves to the sound grains, adhere with considerable obstinacy by 
means of an oily or greasy matter in their own substance, and cannot be thor- 
oughly cleaned away except by means either of an alkali which shall combine 
with the oily matter and convert it into soap, or of some powerful substance, 
which shall be adverse enough to vegetable life to kill the spores, and yet 
not so adverse as to kill or injure the grains. The substances most com- 
monly employed in alkaline steeps are lime, and salts of soda, potash, and 



THE GREAT DISEASES OF PLANTS. 631 

ammonia; and those of a killing kind most commonly employed are arsenic, 
sulphate of copper, nitric acid, muriatic acid, and sulphuric acid. The use 
of poisons, however, — particularly violent ones, — is altogether unnecessary, 
and very dangerous, and not a little culpable ; and the use even of exces- 
sively pungent substances, which are not strictly poisonous, is never so 
politic, and perhaps never so efficient, as that of the alkalies, or of common 
salt, or of some mixture of saline substances. 

The experiments of Mr. Bevan indicate that lime-water is the most 
effective of these preparations ; and if this be adopted, it may be prepared 
by mixing one pound of fresh lime with three gallons of boiling water, 
allowing these to stand for two hours, and the clear liquor then to be poured 
off, and immediately used. In this liquid the wheat should be soaked for 
twelve hours, stirred twice or thrice during the time, and then mixed, upon 
a floor, with the powder made by pouring three gallons of boiling water 
upon five pounds of lime. He remarks further, that he has had no experi- 
ence of the effects of lime-water as a preventive of the smut ; but, with 
stale urine and a solution of common salt, numerous and expensive experi- 
ments were made, the results being, without exception, favorable, and nearly 
similar ; and this being the case, a preference is to be given to common 
salt, as being decidedly the best in all material points. The mode observed 
to be the most effective is to wash the seed with pure water, pouring this 
off with all the floating grains, and then allowing the seed to soak for twelve 
hours in a solution of common salt, having a strength, or specific gravity, 
sufiicient to float a common hen"s egg. A solution of sulphate of soda, in 
cooperation with an application of lime, was found by M. de Dombasle, 
after many experiments, to be the most efficient steep. The solution 
requires about 17^ lbs. of the sulphate in 22 gallons of water; and as this 
salt does not very readily dissolve, the solution ought to be commenced a 
day or so before it is wanted, and frequently stirred, till all the salt is dis- 
solved. The grain is to be formed in heaps on the floor, which are to be 
completely moistened with the above wash, by means of a watering vessel. 
During the time the wash is being poured over the heaps of grain, they 
must be kept constantly stirred about, by means of wooden shovels, till the 
whole be perfectly moist, which is known by the wash running from the 
heaps after they are sufficiently saturated. After the grain is well moist- 
ened, lime, in powder, is to be immediately thrown over the heaps, in the 
proportion of nearly 4i lbs. to the 22 gallons of grain; this is done grad 
ually, while the grain is to be turned over in every direction, so that the 
whole may be intimately combined. When this is done, the grain may be 
either sown immediately, or kept for some days, in which case it may be 
turned over every three or four days. 



632 farmer's hand-book. 

The use of any kind of steep, however, is a preventive of smut only as 
propagated by the adhesion of spores to the grains of the seed-corn, and can 
have no efficiency whatever against the germination of spores which lie 
lodged in tlie soil independently of the seed-corn. Mr. Johnson remarks, 
in addition, that, although it is very apparent that the smut is generally 
imparted to a wheat crop by the agency of the seed sown, yet he is by no 
means of the opinion that this is the only source of infection. He had kept 
ears of wheat, that were covered and destroyed by the Uredo, during more 
than twelve months, in a situation where they experienced the vicissitudes 
of temperat\ire during all the seasons, unprotected by more than the paper 
envelope in which they were suspended in an out-building. Yet, when the 
Uredo that had been thus exposed was mixed with healthy, well-washed 
seed-wheat, this produced diseased plants in a triplicate proportion more 
numerous than that not so mixed. This experiment demonstrates that frost 
and drought, acting in concert with a damp atmosphere, do not destroy the 
vegetating power of the Uredo's seed. Such being the fact, why may not 
this seed remain in the soil, ready to impart the plague? We know that, 
owing to its lightness, this seed floats buoyantly in the air, and may be car- 
ried by winds to distant soils, which, in the autumn of the same year, before 
any extremity of cold has been endured, will have to bear the wheat crop 
for the following harvest. The opinion that the soil is one source of infec- 
tion is sustained by the fact that fields in the vicinity of the sea are rarely 
injured, and never extensively, by the ravages of the smut. Such soils are 
impregnated more than any other with common salt, and the effect of this 
saline compound upon the Uredo has been noticed already. The spores of 
Uredo segetum, too, are so generally shed and dispersed before the har- 
vesting of the crop, that they may be supposed to lie lodged in immense 
numbers in every part of the field, or farm, or district, where they were 
produced ; and even in so far as they adhere to the grains of barley and 
oats in the same manner in which those of Uredo fcetida adhere to the grains 
of wheat, they have such a peculiarly strong hold in connection with the 
integuments of these grains, that they cannot very readily be reduced or 
killed by means of steeps. As regards some smutted wheat-lands, there- 
fore, and especially as regards all smutted barley-lands, and all smutted oat- 
lands, other preventives and remedies must be brought into requisition, 
and should be such as to secure the utmost possible cleanness of both the 
seed-corn and the land, and will, after all, be found incompetent to eflfect an 
entire cure. The obtaining of seed-corn for any farm from other and dis- 
tant soils is recommended by TuU, Donat, Lignerolle, and others ; but, 
however beneficial this may be for securing other desirable effects, it can be 



THE GREAT DISEASES OF PLANTS. 633 

useful in regard to smut only when the seed-corn is brought from a dis- 
trict remarkably free from that disease. All the preventives and remedies 
which address themselves to the state of the land, or consist in special 
processes or methods of culture, are the same in the case of smut as in 
that of mildew. 

COTTON ROT. 

Description. — This disease makes its first appearance as a small, dark 
green, circular spot, on the outside of the boll, and many of them are fre- 
quently present on a single boll at the same time. The progress of the 
disease varies — being sometimes rapid, and at other times tardy — most 
probably influenced by the temperature of the atmosphere, or the condi- 
tion of the plant ; but, with the advance of the disease, the spots change 
color, and gradually assume a blackish-brown hue, until the entire boll 
is affected. If suddenly checked, as sometimes occurs from an unex- 
plained cause, only a portion of the boll will be discolored. In the first 
case the disease has penetrated to the centre of the boll, which ferments, 
and pours out a white, frothy liquor ; after which putrefaction follows, 
involving the destruction of the seed and immature cotton, when the rind, 
or exterior coating of the boll, being exhausted of its juices, hsvrdens and 
turns black. When suddenly checked in its operation, the disease will 
be found to have only partially injured some of the bolls, and the interior 
of others not at all — these will mature and expand. This, however, is 
seldom the case, as the boll is subject to a succession of attacks until it 
is finally destroyed ; being liable to the ravages of the disease from the 
period of its first formation, until that stage of perfection is reached 
which immediately precedes development. 

Cause. — All research has hitherto failed to ascertain the originating 
cause, and, consequently, no remedy can be intelligently applied. It has 
been supposed to be occasioned by the larvjie of a small insect, hatched 
from eggs deposited in the boll at an early period of its development, 
which, by feeding on the seeds, produce the disease ; and a boll, thus 
affected, when divided, usually contains a varied collection of small in- 
sects in different stages of metamorphosis. On the other hand, it is urged 
that the presence of insects in the rotted boll proves nothing more than 
that they probably crept into it for food and shelter after it had been 
destroyed by the disease. The insect theory does not seem to be borne 
out by the result of close observations, which prove that, while one cotton 
plant is a prey to the disease, others in the immediate vicinity are com- 
paratively free and healthy ; as many as seventeen rotted bolls having 



634 FARMER'S HANDBOOK. 

been counted upon one plant, while its near neighbors were "luxuriantly 
green, and unmarked by the least sign of the disease. Insects seem to 
be attracted to the decaying bolls by the sap which exudes from the 
wounds, and thus the efiect is mistaken for the cause. Equally as un- 
satisfactory is its reference to a defect in the soil, or in the manure ; for 
here, again, are the advocates of this theory met by the fact, that all the 
plants growing on the same soil, and similarly treated, are not affected 
with the disease. Much may depend on the constitution of the plant, 
derived from imperfect or immature seed ; and a careful selection of well- 
ripened seed, from sound and healthy plants, might do much toward 
eradicating the disease. 

COTTON BUST. 

Description. — A parasitical fungus grows upon the stem and branches 
of the plant, which exhausts the sap, and causes the leaves to wither 
and fall. The leaves assume a yellow color, and are frequently spotted 
with red. 

Cause. — It is generally traceable to defective cultivation, and may be 
remedied by adopting such a system of agriculture as will restore to the 
soil its abstracted salts and phosphates. 

COTTON BLIGHT. 

Description. — This disease, although mistaken for rust, is of itself a 
distinct affection. The leaves suddenly wither, droop, change to a brown 
color, and then fall off; and the bolls shrivel and dry up. The entire 
plant dies in a very short time ; the pith of the root, stem, and branches, 
presenting that blackish-brown appearance which usually accompanies 
an advanced stage of decay. 

Cause. — Experiments have proved that it is the result of planting 
cotton for a series of years on the same land, and that it may be pre- 
vented by a judicious rotation of crops. 

SORE SHIN. 

Description. — This is another affection of the cotton plant, which 
makes its appearance in the early stages of its growth, during the preva- 
lence of cold nights in a wet and backward spring. The bark of the 
stem becomes callous, and the sap vessels are dried up, or obstructed 
near the surface of the ground. If the plant continues to live, its 



THE GREAT DISEASES OF PLANTS. 635 

growth is slow and languid, and it never regains its former strength and 
vigor. 

Cause. — This malady has been attributed to esrly planting, but it is, 
doubtless, really caused by the ravages of the cotton-louse, which debili* 
tates the plant by abstracting the sap. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

NOXIOUS INSECTS AND ANIMALS. 

INSECTS WHICH LIVE CONSTANTLY ON OR IN DOMESTIC ANIMALS, AND PROP- 
AGATE ON THEM INSECTS WHICH INJURE GRAIN — INSECTS INJURIOUS 

TO CULINARY VEGETABLES INSECTS INJURIOUS TO FRUITS, FRUIT-TREES, 

SHRUBS, AND VINES — INSECTS INJURIOUS TO FLOWER-PLANTS — INSECTS 

INJURIOUS TO MEADOWS — INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE COTTON PLANT 

ANIMALS INJURIOUS TO CULTIVATED FIELDS. 

I. INSECTS WHICH LIVE CONSTANTLY ON OR IN DOMESTIC ANIMALS, 
AND PROPAGATE ON THEM. 

Lice. — Among- insects which continually live on domestic animals, pro^v- 
agate on them, and, when their numbers are too great, cause serious injury 
to them, the various species of lice hold the first place. These animals are 
much to be dreaded when they have increased so as to produce the disease 
called Phtluriasis, and when this settles into a confirmed chronic evil. In 
horned-cattle lice have no particular favorite place. They run up and down 
over the hndv of sheep, causing a separation of the wool from the skin. 
They swarm in every part oi swine, and even grow into the skin, muscles, 
&c. They may be occasioned by dirt, insufficient food, or want of bodily 
exercise, or by previous disease. The remedy prescribed is, to take a 
common pair of bellows, and a bellows-pipe fixed to its side, which is to be 
filled with inferior tobacco, and set fire to ; one man holds the sheep between 
his legs, another parts the fleece in various places, and a third blows the 
tobacco-smoke on the skin, fumigating by degrees the whole body. The 
eheep must be kept some time in the open air after this. Ox-lice are to be 
expelled by washing with an infusion of Staphysagria powder and crushed 
pepper in strong vinegar. For lice in swine, use internally the black sul- 
phuret of mercury, mixed with salt, and wash the parts most infested with 
arsenic acid. 

Horse Bot. — The horse hot is the larva of a fly resembling a humble-bee, 
with two wings. The female lays her eggs on the shoulders, manes, and 
knees of horses, which they lick off and swallow. They hatch in the 
stomach, feed in the larva state all the winter on the mucilage, and in 
spring are found in the horse's stomach, sometimes in great numbers. 
They resemble in size and form a date-stone, having two hooks at the fore 
end, with which they adhere to the inner coat of the stomach, often pen- 

(636) 



NOXIOUS INSECTS. 637 

etrating' from | to ^ an inch deep into the white insensible tissue, and 
becoHie aa if distorted by it. If numerous, they cause violent pain ; and, as 
they irritate the stomach, and extract a great deal of nourishment from the 

Fig. 351. 




animal, they necessarily injure digestion. The American arbor vit«, 
administered inwardly, and the expressed juice of the common elder, either 
alone or mixed with tar, will be found effectual in protecting cattle from 
bots and intestinal worms. The leaves and young shoots of the arbor vitae 
are to be beaten in a mortar with a little water, and the juice expressed 
The horse is to take a quart, as a preventive remedy, every quarter of a 
year, on an empty stomach ; and if the animal is very ill, this quantity is to 
be given thrice a week. An effectual mode of preventing the introduction 
of the bots into the stomach is also said to be, the washing off the eggs 
from the knees, mane, and sides of the horses, or removing them with a pair 
of scissors. 

Fundament Bot. — The female of this hot lays her eggs on the lips of the 
horse, whence they are licked off and swallowed, and thus get into the 
stomach. The bot-fiy itself is half an inch long, brown, unspotted wings, 
dark abdomen, with white base and reddish-yellow extremity. The larva 
resembles the preceding, and is also found with it in spring in the stomach 
of horses. Their color is not so red, their body has two rings less, and 
their hooks are longer and sharper. Their presence is known by the horse 
voiding them with excrement, or by their being found on the closing muscles 
of the anal opening. When thus convinced of their presence, injections of 
animal oil are applied, which kill the larvae, and they are voided. 

Ox Warble. — This insect is larger than the house-fly, and resembles the 
humble-bee. It has brown, unspotted wings, and on the abdomen, which is 
covered at the end with reddish-yellow hair, a black band. The eggs are 
laid on the skin of the back of oxen, one at a time. The eggs are hatched 
by the animal heat, and the larvae cause swellings, generally abo\it the size 
of a pigeon s egg, and are called warbles — worm-holes. The larva is 
without feet is dotted on the upper surface with very small grains, wbicb 
54 



638 farmer's hand-book. 

appear under the magnifier like short, triangular, yelldw prickles, which 
create an irritation in the skin of the cattle, and also transport the larva to 
another place, when it has left its first station. It lives in the tumor from 
August till the next June, then pushes itself through and falls to the 
ground. Usually only from four to five tumors are found in one beast. 
Young, healthy, and fat cattle are most liable to be selected. The tumors 
may in many cases contribute to the health of the cattle, but when very 
numerous, the cattle grow lean, and the cows give less milk. To rid cattle 
of this torment, enlarge the opening of the tumor with a knife, and press 
the sides of the swelling, when the larva protrudes itself. The wound 
must be kept clean, and heals without further remedy. 

Red Bot. — About the size of the honey-bee ; thorax rose-colored ; wings 
inspotted ; abdomen black at the base, whitish-gray, set with yellow hairs 
at the further end. The female lays her eggs in the animal's nostrils, and 
the larvae cause an itching in these tender parts, — frequently get into the 
cavities of the gullet, and cause much pain. They feed upon the mucus 
which they find in these parts, and when large enough tickle by their 
crawling, and are then thrown out by the sneezing of the animal. Sheep 
die when these insects are numerous in them. 

Sheep Bot. — The thorax in the winged insect is brownish-black and 
dotted with white; the abdomen white, spotted with gray and black; the 
forehead ash-gray, covered with many small, deep punctures; the wings 
shining and dotted at the base. Lives in sheltered places, where it is 
numerous in warm days. The females lay their eggs in the nostrils ; more 
than three or four are seldom found in one sheep, but they produce the 
staggers, and torment the animal greatly. The symptoms of their presence 
are nausea, weakness, sneezing, slow pace, turning the head, holding it 
down, and pushing itself against the nearest object ; a shining, pus-like 
matter flows from the nostrils, often adhering so firmly to the apertures as 
to close them up, and cause difliculty of breathing. Besides these, dulness 
and indiflference, swelling of gums and mouth, ulceration and convulsions, 
are produced by it. It also makes the sheep turn round frequently, exactly 
as if they were infested with the hydatids, which occasion the disease 
called the gid. The hydatid worm appears in lambs, much seldoir.er in 
yearlings, and still more rarely in full-grown sheep ; it causes no defluxion 
from the nose, no symptoms of a disease, no sneezing, staggering, &c. ; buC 
the sick animal is lost without remedy. But in the disease caused by the 
sheep bot, the sheep in many cases cure themselves ; the lambs are only 
attacked when out at pasture ; and the diseased state of the pituitous 
tunic of the nose is a clear sign that it is the sheep bot, and not the hydatid 
worm, that afiects them. To remedy sheep thus aiTected, they are either 



NOXIOUS INSECTS. 639 

taken out alive, by trepanning the skull, as for the hydatids, or an attempt 
is made, by injections into the nostril of animal oil diluted with water, to kill 
them. Do not put sheep in pastures infested with the flies of sheep boi. 

Horse Fly, or Forest Fly. — The fore-part of the body is depressed ; liead 
triangular; abdomen large and roundish, somewhat resembling that of a 
spider, — hence it has also obtained the name of spider-fly. The thorax 
is speckled with buff; the other parts are brown ; the blunt, membraneous 
wings lie crosswise over each other. It prefers the abdomen of the 
animals, and attaches itself firmly to it. These flies are produced, or 
increase very rapidly, on animals that are unclean, or are in bad condition ; 
and as they torment the animals very much, the following remedy must be 
applied, by which they can be got rid of in a day. Of mineral earth, take 
8 oz., and of lard 1 lb., and make into a salve; rub it on here and there 
upon the hair, working it in with a wisp of straw. After twenty-four 
hours, wash off the salve with warm water in which brovvn soap has been 
dissolved. Keep the horse from getting cold. 

Sheep Tick. — This animal has no wings. The fore part of the body is 
very small ; abdomen thick-roundish, and proportionally very large. It sits 
sometimes on the skin of the slieep, under the wool, and sucks itself full of 
blood. Its color is pale red, the abdomen lighter, with an irregular white 
line on each side, and a red spot on the back. It lays only one Bgg^ 
fastened to the wool ; it is first white, then brown, and finally the perfect 
insect escapes from it. As a remedy for this insect, wash the infested 
sheep with a decoction of the crushed or bruised leaves of the common 
maple. 

Bird Spider Fly. — Scarcely half as large as the forest fly, apple-green 
flat above, and has small, transparent, black-veined wings. It is found 
both on large and small fowls, clings firmly to the skin under the feathers, 
and annoys by its greediness for blood. It is difficult to rid the birds of this 
insect, for it runs backwards and forwards so fast that it can scarcely be 
caught. It finds out the bird, even when covered with the hand, and creeps 
unperceived again under the feathers. Many, that are thought to be killed 
when taken from the bird, fly back immediately. They leave the bird as 
soon as it is dead, as the head-louse leaves a human corpse. Cleanliness is 
the only remedy for this insect, and frequently sweeping and whitening the 
hen-house. 

II. INSECTS WHICH INJURE GRAIN. 

Gibbous Ground Beetle. — This is a beetle whicn mjures wheat, rye, and 
barley. The eggs are laid together, and not smgly, oy the mother ; and the 
larvae are, apparently, three years before thev undergo their transforuiationi 



640 farmer's hand-book. 

The length of the full-grown larva is rather more than an inch ; it is flat, 
narrow, and nearly of equal width througnout , the head is very flatly 
pressed, armed with strong forceps, like jaws, lo diminish their number, 
it is recommended to catch tliem by the hand, which may be done by chil- 
dren. The common net — a linen bag, stretched on a hoop of strong wire 
— may also be stretched at night on the corn, and the insects feeding on the 
ears be caught in it. In the day-time they must be looked for under stones 
and clods. In the autumn, when the first slight frosts set in, the farmer 
should plough those fields which have had crops of wheat, barley, and rye, 
as deeply as possible. Many larvae which have by this time retired to their 
winter quarters will thus be turned up in a benumbed state, and will either 
be killed by the next frost or devoured by the crows and other birds in 
search of food. But this ploughing should be performed for many years 
successively, and by all the neighboring farmers simultaneously, or it will 
not be efficacious. Those fields which have been sown in autumn should 
be strewn with peat-ashes — when peat is to be had, and is used as fuel — in 
spring, when the supervening rains will disengage the sulphuric acid, which 
will kill the insects. 

German or Field Cockchaffer. — An insect injurious to the ears of wheat 
and rye. It has a square abdomen, rather flat ; its whole length is half an 
inch, and its breadth one fourth of an inch ; the color of the wing-cases is 
mostly brown, but sometimes a small square spot is seen at their base, and 
another larger saddle-like spot of the same color in their middle ; the head 
and thorax of a dark-green ; the under side of the body and legs are black. 
These insects are found singly, or three or four together, sitting on the 
ears, and gnawing the still soft grains of rye, or of wheat. Crows, moles, 
and field-mice, are its greatest enemies. The perfect insect can only be 
diminished and destroyed by picking it off the plant. Children may be 
employed for this purpose, and must collect the insects in bags. The 
insects must be crushed or destroyed by putting hot water on them, and 
then given to the poultry, which will become very fat by feeding on them. 
The hand-picking must be early in the morning, while the dew is on the 
plants, as then the beetle hangs lazy and benumbed on the ears of corn. 

Lined Click Beetle, — Larva, the Wire-worm. — A beetle particularly inju- 
rious to oat* The larva of this beetle — known under the name of the 
wire-worm — appears sometimes in great numbers, devastating corn by 
attacking the roots. This larva is slender and linear, flat, shining, smooth; 
slightly hairy, and brown. It resembles the meal-worm. The beetle is 
blackish, with gray hairs; the feelers and legs are brownish-yellow, and 
tlie wing-covers striped with gray. The best means of destroying them is 
to mow the oats, and plough up the ground frequently, when crows and 



NOXIOUS INSECTS. 



641 



other birds will pick up the larvae. In Fig. 352, a is the larva of Eluter 
segetis ; b, under side of the terminal segment of the body ; c, the head seen 
from beneath ; d, perfect insect, natural size ; e, magnified ; f, larva of the 

Fig. 352. 




true wire-worm ; g, the larva of ditto, as described by some writers, being 
another species. 

Winter or Dart Moth. — A moth that injures winter grain. The cater- 
pillar or larva of a moth, which, from its food in the larva state, is called the 
winter corn-moth, is one of the most troublesome of the insect tribe. This 
caterpillar attacks both the leaves and ihe roots of the corn ; also the roots of 
lettuce, turnips, and spinach. It appears generally in August, sitting quietly 
on the ground in the day-time, and flying about and pairing at night. When 
at rest, its wings are folded together flat over the body, and it is then nearly 
an inch long, and half an inch wide. Its colors are dirty-gray, and dark 
brown, or earth-color, except on the under wings, which are covered as it 
sits, and which are sometimes whitish-gray, sometimes cream-color. On the 
up])er wings a faint, blackish, ringlike mark is seen, and a cone-shaped spot 
on a wavy line, a kidney-shaped stain almost in the middle, and towards the 
lower edge two other wavy or notched transverse lines. The most simple 
and certain mode of extirpating the noxious seed-eating caterpillar from the 
soil is, to repair to the fields, and collect the caterpillars as soon as they ap- 
pear. The only question is, how the hand-picking is to be set about, without 
spending time unnecessarily. A person unacquainted with the habits of the 
creature would seek for it in vain in his fields. They lie in the day-time 
under stones, clods, or buried in the earth ; these must therefore be carefully 
turned up, in search of the enemy. When they are changing their skins, 
they come out of their lurking-places, even in the day-time, and can easily 
be gathered. Immediately after sunset they come out in great numbers, and 
54* 2Q 



642 FARMERS HAND-BOOK. 

feed greedily on the young corn. At this time, therefore, the work must be 
carried on vigorously, and even till late at night, with artificial light. 

White-line Dart Moth. — A moth injurious to buckwheat and autumn-sown 
grain. The caterpillar is upwards of an inch long, and of the thickness of 
a slender writing-quill. On the back it is dirty olive-green, with a mixture 
of yellow. The head is brown ; the abdomen and feet are dirty-yellow. It 
lives in the day-time in the earth, coming out only at night. The remedies 
proposed are — hand-picking, applying a strong dressing of lime to the land 
in the spring, strewing the ground with ashes, rolling the fields with heavy 
rollers, and lastly, driving flocks of sheep over the field. 

Botys. — A moth, the caterpillar of which is injurious to millet. It ia 
destroyed as follows : — As soon as the millet is reaped and carried away, 
let the stubble be pulled up, and burnt in a heap, with the caterpillars in it. 

Corn Moth, — A moth injurious to grain laid up in magazines. The 
perfect insect or moth measures, from the head to the tips of the wings, from 
six to seven lines. The body is brown, with a little white on the back ; the 
head has a thick tuft of whitish hairs ; eyes black ; upper wings more or 
less white, with brownish and dusky dots, varying in form and size. The 
most decided and certain mark is a spot of the same color at the base, 
followed by an almost square spot on the outer border ; behind this, in a 
slanting direction, runs a band-shaped spot almost through the whole breadth 
of the wings. Behind this are two dots on the anterior border, and just 
above the tips of the wings a larger brown spot. The posterior border is 
furnished with long brown and white mottled fringes. The under wings 
are smaller and shorter, brownish, with long fringes at the posterior edge. 
This insect appears as a moth in May, June, and July, in buildings where 
grain is stored ; it rests in the day-time, and only flies about at night, attack- 
ing rye, oats, barley, and wheat. The remedies proposed are — to fill up the 
nracks and holes, sprinkle the floor with a mixture of strong white-wine 
vinegar and salt before laying up the corn, sweeping the floor and walls 
thoroughly before stowage, and, if the moth has laid her eggs on the grain, 
common salt may be mixed with the grain. Other remedies are recom- 
mended, such as garlic, tobacco, wormwood, hemp, hops, elder-flowers, 
turpentine, and brimstone. 

Corn Weeinl. — A small insect, linear-shape, narrow rostrum, the elytra 
marked by impressed lines of dots. The female deposits her eggs upon corn 
in granaries, and the young larva at once burrows into the grain, of which it 
eats the interior. Various plans have been suggested for its destruction ; 
perfect ventilation and a constant shifting of the grain are great preservatives. 

Hessian Fly. — A small midge, injurious to wheat. Its body is covered 
with short black hairs ; the thorax is much arched, smooth, and shining ; 



NOXIOUS UMSEcTS. 643 

the scutellum projecting, rounded posteriorly ; the breast sometimes golden- 
yellow ; the abdomen brownish; the wings blackish ; the golden-yellow of 
the base is sometimes continued to the veins, where it appears lighter, and 
disappears by degrees about the middle. The halteres are yellowish-white ; 




the legs golden-yellow at the base of the thigh. The female has a black 
streak on the abdomen. The larva is spindle-shaped, and whitish ; the 
posterior end suddenly diminished ; the head bent inwards, and transparent 
above. A short line is remarked within, which is the intestinal canal. It 
is dirty white below ; in younger specimens this coloring appears like nine 
spots on each side, and has a row of still smaller spots in the middle. When 
the larvae are fully grown, they unite in regular segments round the wheat; 
they are then provided with very small hooks or notches towards the head. 
Their length is three twentieths of an inch, and their breadth one twentieth. 
The perfect insect appears in June, and perhaps later ; the female lays from 
one to eight eggs, in the autumn. The only practicable mode of destroying 
this insect is to wait till the grain is reaped, and then burn the stubble in 
which the pupae lie concealed. If it should be impossible to do this, sow the 
fields next year with any other grain than wheat ; better, perhaps, not to sow 
wheat anywhere near them, that the flies may not carry their eggs there. 

Wheat Midge. — This is another small species of midge, injurious to 
wheat. When the wheat is in blossom, it is sometimes attacked by a small 
fly, of an orange-color, which lays its eggs in the middle of the blossom. 
When the eggs are hatched, the larvae prevent the fructification of the grains, 
probably by eating the pollen. The perfect insect slightly resembles the 
common midge, but is smaller. The body is orange-yellow ; the wings clear 
and transparent, and hairy at the edges ; the eyes are black ; the antenna; neck- 
lace-shaped, longer than the thorax, and the feet rather long. The smallnesa 
ef this insect, both in its larva and perfect state, with the circumstance ot the 



644 



f ARxAIER S HAND-BOOK. 



destruction of the wheat when it is in blossom, allows of but little that can 
be eifected by human aid. The safest and almost only certain means of 

Fig. 354. 




diminishing such an evil, for the next year, consists in not sowing wheat 
again on the same field, nor in its neighborhood. The larvae quit the wheat 
in August, and pass the winter in the ground. 



III. INSECTS INJURIOUS TO CULINAKY VEGETABLES. 

Spring Beetle or Ship-jack. — Gardeners remark, often to their great 
annoyance, that many newly-transplanted lettuces begin suddenly to wither 
and perish ; this happens chiefly ip spring and summer. If we seek for the 
cause, we find in the roots of the withering plants a worm, which is the 
larva of one of the Elateridae, which much resembles the meal-worm. It eats, 
by degrees, the root of the lettuce as far as the collar from which the leaves 
are developed. It is light yellow, from six to seven lines long, of the thick- 
ness of a pigeon's quill ; its body is cylindrical, somewhat flatly compressed 
at the head, rather pointed behind, with strong, black, and shining jaws. 
The pupa or nymph is shorter than the larva, paler in color, and thicker. 
The beetle, which is developed from the pupa in fourteen days, is from four 
to five lines long, one and a half lines broad, and has the usual form ot spring 
beetles ; it is slightly curved ; head and thorax dark-brown ; wing-cases 
yellowish, striped, with dots ; the feelers are slender, notched, and yellow- 
ish-brown ; the under side of the body also brownish. To get rid of this 
pest, pull up every plant that begins to wither, and kill the enemy within, 
or in the earth near the plant. 

Asparagus Beetle. — There are two kinds. One is blackish-green, the 
thorax red with two black dots, yellow wing-cases, the suture and three 
spots united to it on both sides black ; and the other, called the Twelve- 
epotted Leaf-beetle, is red, the wing-cases lighter, each having six black 



NOXIOUS INSECTS. 645 

dots; the horns, eyes, breast, edge of the abdomen, tips of the thighs and 
palpi, black. The first-named is called the asparagus beetle. The larva is 
spindle-shaped, flat beneath, arched, fleshy, wrinkled, covered with single 
hairs, bordered at the sides, of an olive-color ; the head and legs black. The 
only remedy is to pick off and kill both beetles and larvee. 

Earlh-flea Beetles. — This name is applied to several species of very small 
beetles, one of which is called the turnip-fly. They make great leaps, by 
means of their thick hind-legs; color generally shining-green, with a brown 
or yellowish hue. They attack cabbage, cauliflower, colewort, radish, 
cresses, flax, tobacco, hops, sainfoin, and summer and winter turnips. 
Shade, coolness, and rainy weather, are the surest protection of young plants 
from its attacks. The remedies are various. Pour boiling water on a hand- 
ful of fresh or dry wormwood, and let it stand from twelve to twenty-four 
hours, to get cold ; then put the plants that are to be planted out into the 
decoction, with their leaves downwards as far as the stem, so that their roots 
may not be wet, and then put into a cellar, or some cool place, and in six to 
ten hours afterwards, they may be planted without risk of attack. Young 
plants and seed-beds may also be sprinkled with this infusion. Plants may 
also be rescued, by applying road-dust after dew has fallen. These two 
modes of remedy are also applicable to field cultivation. 

Mok Cricket., Churr Worm, Jarr Worm, Eve Churr, or Earth Crab. — 
This insect is very destructive to culinary vegetables, meadows, and corn- 
fields. When full-grown the mole cricket measures nearly two inches in 
length, and four lines in breadth. Its color is dark-brown ; head oval, small 
and longish ; two bristle-shaped and strong feelers ; thorax covered with fine 
woolly hair; wings very broad and triangular, when expanded; abdomen 
soft ; the two fore feet proportionally short, but broad and strong, adapted to 
dig in the earth. The surest and most efficacious remedy is to destroy the 
brood in June or July. First pour water into their holes, and then a few 
drops of any sort of oil ; they leave their holes when they feel the water, 
and when touched by the oil, die immediately. Also, pits may be dug, two 
or three feet deep and a foot wide ; after the frost, all the mole crickets will 
collect in these for shelter, when they may be destroyed in heaps. 

Painted Field Bug. — A dangerous enemy to the cabbage tribe, particu- 
larly in dry summers, since in its larva, as well as in iis perfect state, it 
pierces the leaves, till it makes them like a sieve. The perfect insect is 
about one fourth of an inch long, and only a little less broad, and rather 
flat. Its ground-color is red or white, its upper side spotted with dark-green ; 
head dark-green, bordered at the sides with red or white before the eyes. 
On the wing-covers, or upper wings, the dark color prevails ; they are 
bordered with red or white as far as the terminal third part ; this border is 



646 farmer's hand-book. 

wavy, and has a green spot. The under side is reddish or whitish ; the 
turned-up edjje of the abdomen is marked with dark-green spots, also, on 
both sides. The larva has nearly the same markings, and only differs from 
the perfect insect by its want of wings. The only way to destroy these 
insects is to pick them off and kill them. 

Plant Lice (Aphis). — These are especial enemies to various sorts of 
culinary vegetables. They, indeed, spare no plant ; but they prefer juicy 
vegetables, — the different sorts of the cabbage tribe, peas, and beans. Ley 
and vapor of tobacco are recommended as the best means of killing the 
aphides, but these remedies cannot well be applied to culinary vegetables. 

Large Cabbage White Butterfly. — The wings are white; upper wings 
with broad black tips, and the female has two black spots on the middle. 
The under side of the under wings is light-yellow. Appears from May to 
October. The caterpillar is bluish-green, thinly-haired, sprinkled with 
black dots, having a yellow stripe on the back, and some on the sides. 
Found on all sorts of cabbages, horse-radish, radishes, mustard, and similar 
plants, as well as on water-cresses. The pupae are yellowish-green, with 
black dots, with a point on the head, and five on the back. The best way 
to destroy them is picking off and killing the caterpillars, as well as the 
pupae, excepting those which have a brown appearance, as these are full of 
the larvae of ichneumons, and other allied parasites, which are the great 
scourge of these caterpillars. 

Small White Butterfly. — This resembles the former insect, but is smaller, 
and the black tint at the points of the upper wings is fainter, and not visible 
on the outer edge. The caterpillar is of a dull green, with very fine hairs, 
yellow stripe on the back, and yellow spots on the sides, on a pale ground. 
In some years, it is very injurious to the cabbage and turnip plants. The 
pupa is yellowish, or greenish-gray, with three yellow stripes. Destroyed 
in the same manner as the foregoing insect. 

Green-veined White Butterfly. — The wings are white, with the tips of 
the upper ones black. The male has one black spot, the female two oi 
three. The veins on the outer edge of the female's under wings are black. 
The under wings are yellow on the under side, with greenish-powdered 
veins. It flies about in April and July, and is of the size of the preceding. 
The caterpillar, which lives on the leaves of cabbages and turnips, is finely- 
haired, of a faint or brownish green, lighter at the sides, with reddish- 
yellow spiracles, small white warts, and black punctures. The pupa is 
yellowish-green, with points on the head, and its back is rather lighter than 
the foregoing species. Destroyed by the same means as the two preceding 
species. 

Gamma Moth. — The caterpillar of this moth is so plentiful in some 



NOXIOUS INSECTS. 647 

years that it does great damage to vegetables, peas, and various sorts of 
fodder-herbage. The ground-color of this moth is light, and dark-gray, 
mixed with rust-color. The head and collar are of brownish-gray, edged 
with light-gray lines, as well as the crested back and shoulders. The 
abdomen is yellowish-gray, with elevated brown tufts of hair. The upper 
wings are marbled, and have a metallic lustre ; the inner edge is wavy, and 
toothed near the fringes. The notched cross-lines are silvery ; towards the 
inner border is a shining mark, resembling the Greek letter gamma; the 
under wings are yellowish-brown at the base above the fringes, with black 
bands. The blackish-^^<-own pupa is inclosed in a white cocoon. The cater- 
pillar is green, beset with single hairs, has twelve feet, and a brownish- 
green head. On the back are fo\ir very small yellowish or whitish lines; 
the feet have a yellow stripe. The spiracles are blackish-^reen. These 
caterpillars are found from spring to autumn, in a variety of generations. 
The only possible means of destroying them is by shaking them off and 
hand-picking. 

Cabbage Moth. — The caterpillar of the cabbage moth is a great enemy 
to different sorts of culinary vegetables. The moth is of middling size, one 
inch and a half broad, when the wings are extended ; its head, collar, and 

Fig. 355. 




back, are blackish-gray, intermixed with whitish and yellowish hairs. Thfl 
back has a thick double crest ; the abdomen is dark ash-gray, the upper 
half beset with black tufts in the middle. The upper wings are gray, with 
a mixture of yellow and white ; the under wings are light gray, witli dark 
veins, and central spots, — blackish towards the outer edge. The moth 
appears in May and June, sits in the day-time, and flies only at night. The 



648 farmer's hand-book. 

caterpillar is green, more or less covered with gray or black ; it has a dark 
stripe on the back, on which there is a pale, indistinct line. Above, it is 
sometimes furnished with dark or pale spots, placed lengthwise. At the 
sides is a dirty-yellow stripe, which becomes reddish above ; close above 
this spot are two white spiracles, surrounded with black, each in a small 
black spot. When this caterpillar is numerous, it does considerable damage 
to cabbages, lettuces, &c., by eating out the heart. It appears in July, 
August and September. To look for them and kill them is a troublesome, 
but the only sure way of getting rid of them. 

White Line Brown-eyed Moth. — The caterpillar of this moth sometimes 
does a great deal of damage to different sorts of culinary plants, in th#same 
manner as the moth last described. The moth is dark rusty brown; the 
feelers have white scales ; abdomen ash-gray, with brown tufts; feet gray- 
ish-brown, yellow-ringed below ; the fore wings have no connected cross- 
lines ; the round middle spot is surrounded with white ; the tmder wings 
are ochre-yellow, or dirty-while, with darker shades towards the whitish 
fringes. The reddish or yellowish brown caterpillar has on the back, and 
on each side, a dark stripe, and a whitish one nearly over the feet ; the 
under side and feet are light-brown ; it is dotted with black between the 
dark stripes. The pupa is shining reddish-brown, and remains in the earth 
during winter. Destroyed only by hand-picking. 

Cabbage- garden Pebble Moth. — Of the family Pyralidee, a small group of 
moths, this species only deserves to be mentioned, as its caterpillar some- 
times greatly injures several sorts of vegetables. The head, back, and upper 
wings of the moth, are hazel-brown, and brownish-gold ; the feelers light- 
brown ; the abdomen and under wings whitish. The first brood flies in 
May, and the second in August. The caterpillar is found in May and June, 
and the second generation in the fall. It has a light-brown head, and a 
yellowish-green body, with blackish stripes running lengthwise, and black- 
ish dots, having fine white lines between. Its length is about two thirds of 
an inch. Destroy by shaking them off and burying immetliately, or killing. 

Carrot Moth. — The caterpillar of this small moth is a great enemy of 
carrots. The moth has a head and back reddish-brown, with single black 
atoms ; abdomen and feet ash-gray, the former with white incisions ; the 
upper wings are of a reddish-brown color ; tliere are also black streaks and 
white atoms, and fringes which surround an indistinct row of dots ; the 
under wings are of ash-gray, lightest nearer the base, with yellowish 
fringes ; on the under side, the upper wings are dark, the under wings light- 
gray. The caterpillar lives on carrots, and eats the flower and seeds. It 
is greenish-gray, inclining to yellow, strewed with black tubercles, emitting 
hairs; the head and upper side of the thorax are browr. It attains the 



NOXIOUS INSECTS. 



649 



length of half an inch. The means of its destruction are simply hand-pick- 
ing. 

RoeseVs Tinea. — The little caterpillars of this moth sometimes do sensi- 
ble injury to the choicest vegetables. The caterpillars are yellowish-green ; 
head shining blackish-brown. Look for them, and kill them. 

Onion Fly. — The larva or maggot of a small fly, damaging the various 
sorts of onions. The perfect insect or fly is entirely of an ash-gray color in 
the female, or with black stripes on the back of the male, the wings clear 
like glass, with yellowish-brown veins. In the figure, a is the grub or 
larva ; b, magnified ; c, paiiparium, within which is the real pupa ; d, 

Fis. 356. 




magnified ; e, perfect insect magnified ; the cross-lines showing the natural 
size. The fly lays her eggs on the leaves of the onion, close to the earth ; 
the newly-hatched maggot bores through the first leaf, and then descends 
between the leaves into the onion to its base, when it entirely destroys the 
bulb, which soon becomes rotten. To destroy them, strew ashes and 
pounded charcoal ; also remove all the infested onions early out of the beds, 
before the flies are developed ; and these onions are easily known by their 
outward leaves turning yellow. 

Cabbage Fly. — This is anotlier small fly, which attacks the cabbage. The 
perfect insect is ash-gray ; the thorax has three indistinct black streaks on 
the back; the wings are clear, like glass; the abdomen is linear, with black 
stripes on the back of the male, or entirely ash-gray on the female ; the 
length is three lines. The larva much resembles that of the onion fly, but 
is thicker. The only way of diminishing this destructive fly is to pull up, 
and carry away betimes, the plants attacked by the larvae, which .nay be 
known by their dull lead-color, and the withering of their leaves in the sun- 
shine. 

Lettuce Fly. — This fly is rather smaller than the former ; it is blackish 
55 



650 farmer's hand-book. 

brown ; the under part and sides of the segments of the abdomen varying 
gray ; length nearly one fourth of an inch. It flies in July. The larva 
resembles the former, but is smaller and smoother, and its color varies more 
into yellow. It destroys lettuce-seeds, and other salad plants. It is almost 
impossible to get rid of these insects. 

Negro Fly. — This insect, in its perfect state, is slightly haired, shining 
black, rather of a metallic-green ; head reddish-yellow ; legs light-yellow ; 
balancers white ; wings clear, like glass : one sixth of an inch long. The 
larva lives in the carrot, particularly near the extremity of the main root. 
The carrots die off by degrees, or at least lose their sweet taste, and become 
rusty, by the passages of the maggots. The larva of the carrot fly is cylin- 
drical, pointed anteriorly, like parchment, shining, smooth, bare, pale-yel- 
low. The only way to diminish their number is to pull up the sickly 
infested carrots, known by their yellow outer leaves and early withering, 
and to destroy the insects contained in them, before they change into pupae. 

IV. INSECTS INJURIOUS TO FRUITS, FRUIT-TREES, SHRUBS, AND 

VINES. 

Black-veined White But lerfy, or Hawthorn Pontia. — This is a four-winged 
insect, which only flies by day, seeks its necessary food, and fulfils the work 
of propagation. It is large, wholly white, excepting that the ribs or veina 

Fig. 357. 




of the wings, and a short oblique stripe from the second to the third vein of 
the upper wings, are black, which distinguishes it from the cabbage butter- 
fly. Eggs shining, yellow, cylindrical ; the newly-hatched caterpillars are 
dirty-yellow, and covered with hair ; the head is black, and there is a black 
rmg round the neck, and a brownish stripe on both sides. The first warm 



NOXIOUS INSECTS. 651 

anshine in spiing, which causes the sap to flow, entices the caterpillars to 
leave their nest ; and as the blossom-buds begin to shoot, they are attacked 
and consumed, as are also the leaf-buds. At the second change of their 
skin, the caterpillars acquire two rows of yellow spots down the back, close 
to and between which extends a black line ; the back is covered with yel- 
low and white hairs, and from the black stripes on the sides extend oblique 
ash-gray stripes, parallel to each other, to the upper side of the body. There 
is also a third change, when the caterpillars have a black stripe in the mid- 
dle of the back, which extends to the posterior part of the body ; the yellow 
dots, to which the yellow hairs were attached, are not so perceptible, and 
the white hairs become more thinly scattered. The pupa is whitish- 
yellow, beset with black dots and stripes. At the beginning of June, the 
butterfly appears and propagates its species. The best way of destroying 
these caterpillars on low fruit-trees is by seeking out the eggs or young 
caterpillars, on the branches, and killing them. The hawthorn butterfly 
prefers the lower apple-tree, to lay her eggs on ; and they may be seen on 
the leaf, conspicuous from their shining yellow color, while the caterpillars 
are betrayed by their web, and the adjacent gnawed leaves. When there 
are no low trees, the high ones will be infested ; and in this case, the mode 
of destruction must be delayed till the leaves have fallen off, when the nests 
of the caterpillars will become visible. Lastly, a person provided with a 
butterfly-net can take the insect on the blossoms of plants and shrubs, on 
which it delights to sit in June, and suck the honey. 

YeUotv-taikd Moth. — This is a destructive insect in the orchard, the larvae 
of the moth often infesting fruit-trees to such a degree that not a leaf or fruit 
remains uninjured. It flies about at night, and in the day-time sits quietly 
on a leaf, or on a wall, and suffers itself to be caught in the hand. The 
posterior part of the body is covered with a round mass of golden yellow 
hair ; its fore wings are dazzling white, as is also the greater part of its 
body, only the principal vein of the fore wing of the male is brown on ita 
under side, and sometimes has a few black dots on its wings. The male 
has a smaller abdomen, a smaller tuft of hair on the tail, and strongly- 
teethed feelers or horns. The moth appears in June, and propagates, the 
eggs being lain on the under side of the leaf, covered with hair. The cater- 
pillars arc usually hatched in July ; they are dirty-yellow, black-headed, 
with a black ring round the neck, thickly-haired, and four rows of blackish 
dots on the back. They feed on the membrane of the leaf. They change 
their skins in August ; cease feeding in September, and become benumbed 
in November, passing the winter in their nest. Refore the buds on the trees 
have begun to burst in spring, some of the caterpillars come out of their 
nests, and eat the unfolded leaves ; at the end of April, they change their 



652 farmer's hand-book. 

skins for the second time, and again in May, when they become reddish- 
brown, marked on both sides with white spots, as far as the extremity of the 
body, which is thickly set with hair along the back ; they now disperse over 
the different fruit-trees in the garden. To destroy them, the means are — 
the destruction of the eggs, killing the caterpillars soon after their birth ; 
collect the pupae at a later period, pursue the moth in July and August, take 
their nests from the trees in autumn and spring, and seek out and destroy the 
half-grown caterpillars in their new webs in May. 

Lackey, or Barred Tree Lackey Moth. — The caterpillar of this moth 
attacks all kinds of trees. The perfect insect is rarely seen, as it only flies 
at night, and conceals itself during the day. This moth is of the middle size ; 
the male, which is usually smaller than the female, measures, with spread 
wings, from tip to tip, from one to one and a fourth inches. The ground- 
color of the whole insect is either light-yellow, or reddish-yellow ochre ; the 
upper wings have always a darker band in the middle, which is bordered by 
two lighter cross-lines ; the fringes are whitish, and brown-spotted ; the 
under wings are always of a uniform color, light-yellow or brownish ; the 
horns are strongly teethed in the male, which has also a thinner abdomen. 
This moth usually appears in July. In spring, the caterpillars are devel- 
oped about the first of May, and they live in society till the third molting 
They are usually met with early in the morning, or on rainy days, at the 
forks of the twigs in a large nest, closely spun over with a silky substance 
and, when disturbed, they let themselves down by threads to the ground, and 
disperse. In the month of June, the caterpillar is fully grown ; it is often 
an inch in length, soft, thinly-haired, striped with blue, red, and yellow, — 
hence its fanciful name, — with a white line down the back ; the head is 
bluish-gray, marked with two black spots. To get rid of this insect, crush 
the whole colony, in May, with a stick, or sweep them down into a pot and 
destroy them. From the middle of June, and during July, search should be 
made for their cocoons, which will be found either fastened between two 
leaves, on trees or shrubs, or lying in the roofs of houses, on the tops of 
walls, or in hedges ; — tread on these cocoons. On low fruit-trees, the rings 
of eggs may be discovered, after some practice, when the leaves have fallen 
off; and, when found, they must be removed from the tree and burnt. 

Gypsy Moth. — Early in spring, before the leaves of the fruit-trees are 
fully out, the little caterpillars are hatched, and spread over the bursting 
buds ; tlie head is large yellow spotted ; six pair of red dots on the hinder 
part of ihe back ; tufts of hair on each side of the body, and single hairs on 
the back. After changing their skin, a pair of blue tubercles appear on the 
fore part of the back, — that is, on each of the first four figments of the body, 
by which they may be identified at once. Towards the end of June, the 



NOXIOUS INSECTS. 653 

caterpillars form their cocoons on the fruit-trees ; the moth appears in 
Auo^ust ; the males are dark-brown, and their fore wings have three or four 
undulating blackish stripes ; the females are whitish-gray, their fore wings 
traversed by brownish stripes. The moth lays her eggs in various places in 
the fall. To get rid of these insects, first find out the egg masses, and crush 
them. As they are large, and usually in open places, we cannot avoid see- 
ing them, if we look carefully, which should be done in autumn, or early in 
spring, before the caterpillars are hatched. 

Goat Moth. — The caterpillar of this moth lives on the wood, instead of 
the foliage of the trees, thus materially injuring it. It is very large, smooth 
and shining, with here and there single hairs. It is dark-red on the back, 
also on the spiracles situated at both sides ; the sides and lower part of the 
body are flesh-colored ; the head is black, the first segment also marked 
with black above. It discharges a corrosive fluid at its persecutors, and 
also difl!uses an extremely offensive smell. After remaining more than two 
years in the larva state, and casting its skin eight times, the caterpillar 
becomes of a light ochre-yellow hue shortly before pupation, which usually 
takes place in spring. The abdomen of the pupa is yellow, and the seg- 
ments are deeply indented, and capable of much extension. The cocoon ia 
situated immediately within the opening of the tree, so that the pupa, when 
matured, can press itself half out of the hole, when the shell bursts, and the 
moth comes forth usually in June or July. It is diflicult to apply any rem- 
edies. When the existence of one of these creatures in a trunk is ascer- 
tained, by the extruded excrement, relief comes too late for the tree, even 
if the caterpillar may be killed ; still, the caterpillar should be reached, if 
possible, by enlarging the opening with a garden-knife, or endeavor to kill 
it by thrusting a piece of pointed wire up the hole of the tree. 

Wood Leopard Moth. — This insect injures the trunks of trees in the 
same manner as the foregoing, to which it perfectly assimilates in its habits, 
and is destroyed by the same means. It is smaller, however ; is hatched in 
August, molts in September, and is full-grown the next June. From ita 
first existence till its transformation, it is yellow, with raised, shiny black 
dots, on each of which there is a fine short hair ; there are two black spots 
on the head. The moth appears in August ; its ground-color is white, with 
scattered steel-blue dots ; it measures, with spread wings, two inches and 
a half. 

Figure-of-8 Moth. — This insect feeds on the foliage of fruit-trees. In 
June, when almost full-grown, this caterpillar measures nearly two inches ; 
it is very juicy, of a yellowish-green color, with black tubercles; it has a 
very small bluish head, with two black round spots on it. When young, it 
is lighter, and is often nearly white on the back ; but when old, becomes of 
55* 



654 farmer's hand-book. 

a bluish color. The pupa is small, cylindrical, reddish-brown, dull, in 
some degree powdered with blue; the moth appears in October, or in the 
following spring. The perfect insect or moth measures, with spread 
wings, from tip to tip, about one and three fourths inches. The whitish- 
yellow spot in the middle of the fore wings, which is divided by three 
incisions at the sides, and is situated between two blackish, undulated cross- 
lines, has been sometimes compared to the figure 8. A white wavy line 
forms a small white spot behind the second stripe at the anal angle ; the 
toothed external edge has ash-gray, shining fringes, bounded with a line ; 
the under wings, which are ash-gray, have a dull middle spot, and an indis- 
tinct band, with a small, black, streaky spot at the anal angle ; the color of 
the feelers, which are toothed in the male, and filiform in the female, is 
rusty-brown ; the thorax above is the same color as the fore wings, and the 
abdomen, with the extremity of the body, — which in the male has a tuft of 
hair, and in the female is cylindrical and downy, — is of the same color as 
the hinder wings. To destroy or diminish these insects, hand-pick them 
as soon as they appear. This is best done in rainy weather, when they take 
refuge under the branches and on dry places of the stem. Their presence 
can be detected by their rather elevated oval form, and they may be 
destroyed by the garden-knife, or a piece of wood. 

Lunar Spotted Pinion Moth. — The caterpillars of this moth are rather 
thick and fleshy, light-green, with a whitish stripe along the back, and two 
darker lines along the sides ; on the segments are whitish-yellow warts, 
furnished with fine, small hairs; over the feet and along the first three 
segments runs a yellow stripe, bordered with black. As soon as the fruit- 
trees are in leaf, this insect is on hand. They are fully grown about the 
first of June, and become pupa? of a hhie, frosted appearance, on the trees 
themselves. In a few weeks the moth comes out ; the fore-wings are 
brownish-red, with several undulating dark-brown transverse lines, and also 
have a whitish semi-circular spot, nearly at the tip ; near to this, almost at 
the outer edge, is a rather large black spot ; the under wings are light-gray, 
rather darker towards the fringes, which are yellow. To get rid of the 
insect, throw them down, by shaking the branches. The moths also usually 
fall from the tree, if the branches are struck in June and July. 

Winter Moth. — The green-looped caterpillar produced by this moth is 
a ruinous insect to fruit-trees. It appears late in the autumn, and proceeds 
from a light-brown pupa, which lies from June to the end of October, either 
a few inches under the earth, or under stones and clods. The male is 
winged, — the female is almost wingless ; the male is of a yellowish-gray, 
with pale-gray wings, traversed with delicate, darkish cross-lines ; the 
female has a much thicker body, of an ash-gray color. It is a nocturnal 



NOXIOUS INSECTS. 



655 



insect ; the eggs are laid singly, at the top of the tree, and are small and 
greenish. The caterpillars are hatched in spring, are at first gray, and 

Pig. 358. 




**4i^*' ' %m^ 




then light-green ; black head, without ventral feet. They devour the leaves, 
buds, and fruit, and occasionally the trees do not recover for some time. 
The winter moths do not all appear in autumn, but many of them lay their 
eggs on the trees in the following spring. To prevent their attacks, it is 
recommended to surround the base of the stem with a wooden frame, or box, 
and daub it on the outside with tar ; others recommend the placing of a 
layer of bird-lime around the trunk of the tree, which is said to have equal 
effect, and does not require daily renewing. 

Pale Brindled BemUy Moth. — It appears very early on the fruit-trees, — 
generally on the pear. The male is rather large ; the fore-wings are 
greenish-gray, covered with fine brownish dots, and traversed by interrupted 
gray cross-stripes, interspersed with whitish spots between ; the hind- 
wings are more or less white, and through the middle of them runs a 
brownish wavy cross-stripe ; before the fringes is another gray, dark stripe ; 
the body of the male is also grayish-green, with long hairs ; the female ia 
without wings, small, coffee-brown, with angular tufts of fine hair, and 
long feet, annulated with white and brown. In March, the female deposita 
her eggs on a small side-twig, in rows downwards, covering them with 
long gray hairs. As soon as the leaves begin to unfold on the twigs, the 
young caterpillars are hatched. 



656 farmer's hand-book. 

Lime Looper, or Mottled Umbre Moth. — Takes its name from the lime- 
tree, on which it likes to feed, as also on fruit-trees. This caterpillar, 
when full-grown, is of a reddish color, and has a yellow stripe on each 
"^ide. It goes into the earth in May or June, and is transformed into a 
brownish-red pupa. The moth comes out of the earth in the beginning of 
November, and lays her eggs on a fruit-tree. The male is as large again 
as that of the winter moth ; its broad fore wings are of a reddish-yellow, 
covered with blackish dots ; the under wings are dirty-white, dotted with 
brown, and in the middle of the wings is a black dot. The female has no 
wings, is much larger than that of the winter moth ; the head and body are 
whitish, covered with black streaks and dots, and the feet annulated with 
yellow and black. To guard against its ravages, the same contrivance as 
for the winter moth is to be resorted to, or strike the branches of the tree 
with a long pole in May, to throw down the caterpillars. 

Small Ermine Moth. — This is a small, nocturnal, four-winged insect; 
the feet, feelers, abdomen, and fore wings, are white, — the latter covered 
with about twenty black dots ; the under wings are blackish. The female 
lays her eggs, at the end of June or first of July, near a blossom-bud, or a 
leaf-bud. The caterpillars are hatched the same autumn, and as soon the 
next spring as the leaves of the apple-trees begin to be formed, these cater- 
pillars take possession of them. The caterpillars mature about the middle 
of June, when they are dirty-yellow, or learl-color, with a black head; and 
on the side of each abdominal segment is a longish black spot, and near it 
small dots, each furnished with a hair. In June the moths are found on 
the fruit-trees. They may be taken from the tree by the hand, and 
destroyed. 

Codling Moth. — A small, reddish-white grub, met with in early applea 
or pears. The fore wings have a light-gray ground, on which are scattered 
many delicate streaks of a dark hue, intermixed with others that are broad 
and cup-shaped. On the posterior border of the fore wings is a large red- 
dish-brown spot, surrounded by a golden mark in the form of a horse-shoe. 
The hind wings are of a sparkling brownish-red, inclining to yellow, and 
are surrounded o-n the outer border by a broad, light fringe. The thorax 
and abdomen are of yellow and brownish-gray. This moth is to be seen in 
the evening, in May, on the apple and pear trees, busily depositing its eggs, 
either on the calyx, or in the hollow part of the fruit at the stalk end. In 
favorable weather, the little grubs are hatched in a few days, so that in 
May apples and pears are infested by them. At first the grub is white, 
with a black head and collar, and black, slanting double dots, which run in 
four rows from the head to the abdomen ; it afterwards becomes more of a 
flesh-color, the head and collar turning brown, the dots gray and indistinct. 



NOXIOUS INSECTS. 65T 

The little grub immediately becomes a pupa in the web, and in a few days 
the moth comes out, which shortly pairs, and deposits eggs on the fruit. 
To diminish this insect in some degree, collect the fallen apples every day, 
and take them out of the garden ; also remove all fruit from the tree which 
has grubs in it, and clear the trees of all loose bark, before the middle of 
April. 

Red Grub of the Plum. — Injurious to the early plums. It produces a 
moth ; its fore wings are black, changing to a metallic hue in the sun ; on 
the outer edge of the fore wings, and reaching up, there is the appearance 
of very fine silver dust ; the black spot on the extreme point of the fore 
wings is surrounded with a white border, and has the appearance of an eye. 
This moth appears in J une ; the eggs are hatched when the weather 
becomes warm ; in July, the grub penetrates deeply into the plum, and the 
outward wound, which it made in entering, soon heals up, and the plum 
becomes filled with the excrement of the caterpillar. There are few 
means in our power to destroy this insect. The tree must be shaken, and 
every plum which falls must be removed. Also remove the loose or split 
bark. 

Red Bud Caterpillar. — The moth which proceeds from this is somewhat 
larger than the one above described, has a white, broad, transverse band, 
studded with gray spots, extending through the middle of the fore wings 
from one edge to the other, and occupies more than a third part of their 
whole surface ; the other parts of the fore legs are gray. It is found on the 
fruit-trees in May ; lays its eggs in June, which hatch the next spring, and 
attack the buds. A honey-drop is not unfrequently seen on the bud, which, 
issuing from the wound made by the insect, is evidence that it will expand 
no more ; should no sap, however, issue from the wound, the bud will con- 
tinue to grow, with the little caterpillar in it. The caterpillar attains its 
full size in four or five weeks ; it then spins itself a white cocoon, in which 
it changes to a light-brown pupa, and appears again in May as a moth. To 
diminish the number of this insect, we must search for the caterpillar on 
the fresh flower-buds, taking it out with a penknife ; if we search for all 
ihe closely-adhering leaf and flower buds on the dwarf trees, during the 
blossoming season, and separate them, no bud-eating caterpillars will escape 

Plum tree Tortrix. — This larva, when fully grown, is about one fourth 
of an inch long, of a dirty-green color, with a red head, and is the cater- 
pillar of a very small moth. It has three pairs of feet, and five pairs of 
fleshy prolegs. The body is sprinkled with a few small hairs. The larva 
lurks, during nearly the whole year, under the bark of the trees ; the per- 
fect insect appears first in June, and again in harvest. The female lays her 

2r 



658 farmer's hand-book. 

eggs on the outer bark, from which the young caterpillars, by degrees, pen- 
etrate to the inner bark. To prevent the moth from laying her eggs on the 
tree, or to prevent the caterpillars from entering the inner bark, wash the 
stem of the tree with a solution of lime, in June and Septeml)er ; also brush 
the tree, and when there is seen the smallest heap of red dust, introduce a 
needle, wire, or knife, into the opening, and destroy the larva. The moth, 
which, on account of its size and color, is difficult to be caught, is about 
half an inch long ; fore wings dark-brown and yellow ; silvery lines and 
yellow spots on the front edge ; a dark-brown stain on the upper part of the 
wings, softened off at the edges, and surrounded by three red lines ; the 
under hind wings are brown. The pupa is brown, and lies under the 
bark. 

Copper-colored Weevil. — Among those insects which feed on fruits is the 
copper-colored weevil, Curculio, or Rhynchites aipreus. It is somewhat 
larger than the apple weevil, and its horny wing-cases are furrowed and 
metallic copper-colored. Tts body and feet are of a somewhat deeper shade, 
and its proboscis and feelers are black. It appears in spring, on different 
fruit-trees; also called the plum-borer. When the plum is nearly the 
size of a large almond, the female weevil selects one in which to lay her 
eggs; and as soon as this is done, she cuts through the stalk with her pro- 
boscis, and by various cunning means causes the plum to drop off. The 
egg does not remain long dormant in the plum or the ground, for, if the 
weather is favorable, the larva is hatched in a few days, and it then pro- 
ceeds to eat the pulp of the plum, which it does in about six weeks ; and, 
being now fully grown, it buries itself in the earth, and awaits its transform- 
ation in the next spring, when it appears as a beetle, and again begins the 
work of regeneration. It is very difficult to catch these beetles on the trees, 
but much easier to destroy their young. Pick up the fallen plums, and 
frequently shake the trees, from June to July. However strong the wind 
may be, it seldom throws down healthy, half-grown plums. 

Bacchus, or Purple Apple Weevil. — This beetle is of a purple and gold 
color, with dark blue proboscis, feelers, and tarsi. Its size is various. It 
is found early in spring on the apple-tree ; begins the work of regeneration 
in midsummer, by boring a hole in the apple, laying an egg at the entrance, 
and pushing it inside with its proboscis, covering the hole in an ingenious 
manner ; it proceeds in this way, depositing three or four eggs in different 
parts of one apple, and then leaves for another. The grub, which is whit- 
ish, with a black head, is hatched in a few days, and at once begins to eat 
the apple, and makes a passage to the surface, to throw cut its excrement 
or admit more air. The larva is full-grown in three or four weeks, and, 
like the larva of all weevils, has no feet. It leaves the apple when ready. 



NOXIOUS INSECTS. 659 

for transformation, conceals itself in the earth, and reappears the next 
spring as the weevil. To lessen their number, pick up and remove the 
injured pierced apples ; also shake the trees well in June and July, to throw 
down the beetles and kill them. 

Stem-boring Weevil. — This is a small beetle, entirely of a blue-steel, or 
a steel-green, shining, metallic color. As soon as the blossom and leaf 
buds begin to unfold, the beetle appears on the trees. The female selects 
a suitable part of the shoot, and bores to its middle ; she then places herself 
over the entrance, lays an egg, pushes it into the proper place, and then, 
by piercing and cutting the shoot, causes it to fall ; after this is done, she 
rests and feeds, and then bores another hole, if there be room, near the first, 
and lays another egg, and this operation is busily continued for some weeks. 
The egg in the shoot is hatched in about eight days, and a white grub, with 
a black head, then appears, feeding on the pith of the shoot ; it is full-grown 
in a month, and then buries itself in the earth till spring, when it again 
appears as a steel-blue colored weevil ; and when the tree begins to sprout, 
it gets upon it, and propagates its species. To diminish the number of 
these insects, look out for the full-grown insect, which is easily taken at 
the time of pairing, and is clearly seen by the splendid steel-blue color. 
Dexterity is necessary in capturing them. As we cannot, however, remove 
all of them, the shoots that lie on the ground, or which still hang on the 
tree, which have been attacked, must be collected and destroyed. Many of 
these kinds of beetles, about half the size of the one mentioned, lay their 
eggs in the pith of the petiole instead of the shoot; the female puncturing it 
to the right and left of the part where the egg is deposited, causing the leaf 
to wither and fall off; the grub then taking up its abode in the earth, and 
changing to a beetle. These leaves, which may be known by their rum- 
pling up and becoming withered, ought to be taken off and destroyed as soon 
as possible. 

Apple Weevil. — A small beetle; wing-cases dark-brown, with whitish- 
gray stripes ; its rostrum, eyes, and under part of abdomen, black. It 
appears as soon as the sap is in motion in the trees in spring; and when the 
blossom-buds are pretty full of sap, the eggs are deposited, and the grubs 
are hatched, early or late in April, according to the weather. It bores a 
hole with its proboscis into the best blossom-buds ; the female then fixes 
herself at the entrance, lays an egg, and pushes it into the hole ; this oper- 
ation is afterwards repeated on the same or on fresh buds ; the grub or larva 
often comes out on the fifth or sixth day, and commences to devour the 
innermost parts of the blossom ; but the blossom-bud continues to swell, and 
the petals to open, till it is almost expanded ; but all at once its growth 
ceases, because not irerely the blossom, — that is, the stamens and pistils of 



660 farmer's hand-book. 

the flower, — but the receptacle itself on which they stand, is devoured. 
The petals, therefore, which remain partially closed, forming a kind of cap, 




wither by degrees, and at last appear scorched. To lessen the number of 
the apple weevils, remove all loose stones, and the leaves which fall in 
autumn ; clear away the loose or broken bark ; and on dwarf trees, take the 
pierced blossoms from the trees when the flower-cap begins to be formed, 
and before it appears burnt. 

Pear Weevil. — While the apple weevil contents itself with only single 
blossoms of the apple-trees, this one attacks blossoms, blossom-buds, and 

Fig. 360. 




leaf-buds, together. If a pear-tree is examined at the time of blossoming, 
many buds will be seen to be brown at the points, and on nearer inspection, 
there will be found a dirty-white rugose maggot, with a dark-brown head, 
which in time is changed to a small weevil. Early in spring the female 
lays her eggs in the buds, causing them to become brown, and then to fall 
ofl^ when the insect is perfect. Should their attacks become too numerous, 
take off the pierced buds and burn them ; also shake the trees early in 
spring, spreading a white cloth under the trees, so that the fallen insects 
may be seen ; also bind strips of paper covered with tar around the stems, 
to prevent the beetles ascending. 

Oblong Weevil. — This is one of a class of small, destructive beetles. 
It has a short rostrum ; its head, thorax, and body, are black ; its feelers 
and feet reddish, and its elytra furrowed, and reddish-brown or blackish. 
It appears early in spring, and selects the best leaves of fruit-trees. They 
pair in spring ; in June, the female lays her eggs in the earth, and the grub. 



NOXIOUS INSECTS. 661 

that b produced feeds on the roots of plants, passes the winter in the earth, 
and, in the spring, appears transformed into a beetle. They should be 
watched in the spring, and, with caution, may then be caught by the hand. 

Red-footed Beetle. — Another small insect, feeding on the leaves of fruit- 
trees. It is shining black throughout, except its red feet ; the tips of the 
feelers are black, and the basal part reddish. It appears generally in May, 
and continues a long while. It may be caught by the hand. 

Garden Beetle. — The Melolontha (or Anisoplia) horticola is another 
leaf-eating beetle. It is larger than the oblong weevil ; its wing-cases are 
red-brown, but somewhat shining, and not reaching to the extreme point of 
the body. Its body, thorax, and head, are dark-green ; its feelers reddish, 
with a dark-green, strongly-cleft terminal club. They appear somewhat 
later than the one just mentioned. The female lays her eggs in the earth, 
and the larvae, when hatched, feed on the roots of plants, are transformed to 
beetles, and appear again as such in the spring. It feeds on the leaves of 
fruit-trees, and is particularly injurious to the apples, because it feeds on 
them when they are very small. When numerous, they often gnaw all the 
leaves till they resemble a sieve, thus checking the growth of the tree, and 
causing the fruit to fall. As these insects are tolerably large, they are 
eaaily seen, and can be removed with comparatively little difficulty. 

Apple-bark Beetle. — So called because it prefers the apple-tree in which 
to deposit its eggs. It is small ; head and thorax black ; the extremity of 
the palpi and feelers reddish ; the longish wing-cases blackish, and some- 
what hairy ; the feet dilated, and of a reddish-yellow ; the thighs black. 
"When the female finds a suitable place, she bores a completely round hole 
in the tree, penetrating to the centre, the minute particles of wood thrown 
out serving as a sign of the insect's presence. At the end of the entrance, 
snow-white, longish eggs are laid, which are also the characteristics of the 
larvae that are hatched in May. The larvae grow very rapidly. This vari- 
ety of insect belongs to a tribe of beetles whose economy is well known, 
and in which the larvae of all the species whose habits have hitherto been 
noticed burrow beneath the bark, devour the soft inner bark, or wood 
beneath the bark, and form distinct channels, diverging from the place where 
the eggs were deposited. The only way to destroy them is to cut off the 
branches infested with their eggs ; and should the trunk be also attacked, 
the whole tree had better be cut down and conveyed away. 

Small-bark Beetle. — This beetle is the Scolytus haemorrhous. It is 
black, the ends of the wing-cases generally reddish ; the feet brownish-red, 
and the wing-cases furrowed lengthwise, and distinctly spotted. They 
make small holes in the stem, penetrating deep into the bark. It is evident, 
that when any tree is attacked by this insect in great n ambers, it must 
66 



662 farmer's hand-book. 

perish, because no tree can continue to grow with an injured bark and 
pierced sapwood. The insects cannot easily be eradicated, or, at least, 
diminished in numbers, but by removing the trees aitacked by them. 

Common Elm-destroying Scolytus — An insect allied to the apple-tree 
scolytus, committing ravages on fruit and other trees. The perfect insect 
or beetle is small, cylindrically formed, and tolerably firm to the touch. The 
head and thorax form the principal part of its body. They are black and 
Bhining, finely and thickly dotted, the former covered with short yellowish- 
gray hairs ; the feelers are light pitch-brown, ending in a knob ; the wing- 
cases are, as it were, obliquely cut off behind, and at the base near the 
thorax somewhat hollowed, — are marked in lines which are dotted, as are also 
the spaces between them, — their color is pitch-brown ; the abdomen, from the 
base to the apex, is as if slantingly lopped off, and, like the thorax, of a dark 
pitch-brown, thickly dotted ; the legs are reddish-brown, with the second 
joint tolerably broad. The larva is yellowish- white, with a large shining 
head, a brown mouth, and a whitish-transparent swelling between the head 
and the first ring on the throat. They confine themselves to the inner bark, 
destroying that part by degrees, and causing the tree, or some of its branches, 
to perish. The only remedy is to fell and carry off the trees attacked, and 
burn them, in the autumn, in winter, or in early spring, at the time when 
the insect is still in the larva state. 

Plum Saw-fly. — The green gage and round plums are sometimes 
attacked, when hardly the size of a pea, causing them to fall off, by a saw- 
fly, which makes use of the pulp as food for her offspring. It resembles the 
house-fly, but has four wings ; the head and body are black, and the feet 
reddish-yellow. As soon as the blossom-buds begin to expand, the insect 
appears, pairs, and then begins to lay its eggs, — selecting the largest kinds 
of plums, — in the upper part of the green envelope of the blossom, cutting in 
and piercing it througli, and immediately introduces the egg into the deep- 
est part. The egg is small, and is hatched in a few days, appearing a 
delicate whitish larva, with a dark-brown head, six pairs of middle feet, 
three pairs of fore feet, and one pair of anal feet. It fixes itself in the centre 
of the plum-stone, which it eats; in six weeks it is fully grown, and the 
plum then drops to the ground, the insect buries itself in the earth till the 
next spring, when it appears again as a perfect saw-fly, ascends the plum- 
tree, and continues its species. To diminish the number of this insect, take 
the plums infested by the larva from the tree, and destroy them ; — these are 
known by a small black opening in the plum ; — also pick up and convey 
away all the plums that fall. 

Pear Saw-fly. — This insect attacks the pear-tree to lodge her young 
tliere It measures, from the front of the head to the extreme point of thfi 



NOXIOUS INSECTS. 663 

body, J of an inch and one sixth in breadth. Its long feelers consist of 
numerous joints, the basal part of which is very thick and long, the second 
much thinner and shorter, and the third the longest. The head is black, 
with a yellow triangular spot between the feelers ; the breast and the upper 
side of the thorax are quite black; the first abdominal segment likewise 
black, but surrounded with yellow ; the other segments are orange-yellow 
from the plates to the two edges, by which the upper part of the abdomen is 
united to the belly ; these plates are of a light-yellow color ; the wings look 
glossy, with a dark-brown mark round the edge, and an obscure kind of 
stripe, which extends across the whole breadth ; the three pairs of feet are 
of an orange-color. It appears in May and June ; the eggs are laid on the 
under side of the leaf; and the caterpillar, which is hatched in a few days, 
is first whitish-yellow, but becomes darker every day. It has a black head, 
and just under the throat are two black dots ; the other parts of the body are 
ochre-colored, and transparent, witliout hairs. In five weeks they are full- 
grown ; then leave the tree, bury themselves in the earth, and do not appear 
again as saw-flies, till the next spring, to propagate their species. Their 
webs must be removed from the trees. 

Peach or Poplar Saw-JJy. — To those insects which only attack the 
leaves of fruit-trees, and use them as food, belongs the peach saw-fly. 
It is a little longer than the common house-fly, is black, and only on the 
hinder part of the body, the back and the abdomen, are seen whitish square 
incisions, extending on both sides towards the middle ; the feelers are 
simply jointed, the palpi and feet are yellow, the thighs black. They ap- 
pear in April or May, laying their eggs firmly on a leaf, a white-greenish 
grub being produced in a few days, which eats the leaves ; they are full- 
grown in five or six weeks, are about the size of the green lopper of the 
winter moth, of a light-green color, with black heads, three pairs of fore and 
one pair of hind feet; they now retire into the ground, remaining there till 
spring, when they again appear as saw-flies to propagate their species. 
The larvae is very destructive, the trees looking as though covered with 
spiders' webs, instead of leaves. Examine the trees carefully when the 
leaves are expanded, and the pale-yellow eggs, which usually lie together 
on the point or edge of the leaf, are easily seen. If these are destroyed aa 
soon as they are laid, the leaves will not be consumed. The green larvae 
cannot escape notice, as they are always surrounded with a web, and rolled 
up in the leaves they have gnawed. 

Pear CJiermes. — These creatures beset the young shoots and bearing 
wood of dwarf pear-trees. It is an insect nearly allied to the plant-lice 
{aphides). It has wings, and is about the size of a large aphis. It has a 
broad head, terminating in front in two cones ; but there is no opening for 



664 farmer's hand-book. 

the mouth in the head, it being situated in the middle of the breast. The 
rostrum stands out perpendicularly, and ends in a point, from the latter 

Pig. 361. 




issuing the very long delicate tongue with which it sucks its food. The 
female is mostly crimson-colored ; the male in some parts more shaded with 
black ; the wings of both are membranous and snow-white. As soon as the 
buds appear, the winged chermes appears, and the eggs, which are longish 
and yellow, are deposited on the young leaves and blossoms, or on the 
newly-formed fruits and shoots. They are hatched in a few days, and 
resemble the apterous plant-lice, have six feet, and are dark-yellow. After 
a few days, they change their skins, and become darker ; and when they have 
molted for the last time, and have attained full size, the body swells gradu- 
ally and becomes cylhidrical. They then leave their associates, and, before 
they lay aside their nymph-like covering, they fasten themselves firmly to 
a leaf; after a few minutes the skin splits on the upper part of the covering, 
and a winged insect proceeds from it, of a pleasant green color, red eyes, 
and snow-white wings. After a few days, this chermes has assumed the 
colors of the perfect insect ; the head, collar, and thorax, are of an orange- 
color, and only the abdomen retains its green hue. Late in the autumn it 
selects a place for protection from the cold, and in spring appears in its 
crimson black-shaded clothing, to begin the work of regeneration. To clear 
the trees from them, brush the young oif with a stiff brush, and tread upon 
them ; or, search out and take away the winged chermes from the dwarf 
pear-trees, as soon as the blossoms appear and the shoots begin to grow. 
Their red color and long wings discover them, and as they are not shy, they 
are easily caught by the hand. 

Apple Chermes. — The eggs are laid in September, on different places of 
the twigs of an apple-tree, usually, however, in the furrows of the knots. 
In the formation of the body of the perfect insect, it exactly resembles the 
pear chermes ; it is, however, different from that species m color, the eyes, 
instead of being red, are of a snowy- white, with a black pupil ; the back of 



NOXIOUS INSECTS 665 

the thorax is of alight-green, the abdomen is marked with yellow rings, and 
the membranous wings with strongly-marked snow-white veins. The snout, 
which contains the setiform tongue, is situated, like that of all the species 
of chermes, in the middle of the breast. When very numerous, these in- 
sects cause considerable destruction ; because, when all the single standing 
blossoms are completely covered with blisters, broken filaments, and small 
hairs, as is usually the case, and the flower-buds have been weakened by 
the previous sucking of these insects, no fruit can be produced. To secure 
the blossom and fruit of trees in pots, or dwarf trees, brush away the young 
chermes with a fine brush, when they appear, or at latest when the first 
changing of the skin takes place in April. It is also necessary to examine 
the small apple-trees in spring, when the blossoms begin to appear, to 
ascertain if any aphides are upon them, and if so, to destroy them. 

Plant-louse, or Aphis. — There are particularly three species of aphides 
which are very destructive to fruit-trees, namely, the apple, plum, and peach 
aphides. Aphis pyri mali, Aphis pruni, and Aphis persicm. The apple aphis is 
grass-green, the plum aphis light-green, and the peach aphis dark-green. The 
old females are known by dark-brown spots on their bodies. They ali 

Fig. 362. 




appear as soon as the fruit-trees leaf. The peach aphides appear the first, 
and are seen upon the trees when the buds are very young ; they proceed 
from eggs which were laid on the shoots the previous autumn, and are only 
females without wings. No sooner do they see the light than they disperse 
over the leaves and shoots near them, and begin to suck out the sap. In 
twelve days they are fully formed, and at once produce young. The off- 
spring of the second generation is, if the weather be warm, again ready to 
bring forth in ten days, at the latest. It often happens that sixteen genera- 
tions in all are produced, — some of the progeny having wings, and others 
56* 



666 farmer's hand-book. 

none ; the latter never leaving the tree unless driven by force, and the former 
pairing and producing their young wherever it may suit them. In Sep- 
tember, males and females are produced from the last generation ; the apple 
aphis producing males vrhich do not obtain wings, and the peach aphis 
those that do. When these newly-born males and females are full-grown, 
pairing takes place. The females then no longer produce living young 
ones, but lay eggs, from which the mothers of the forthcoming generations 
proceed. They lay their eggs on the twig or shoot itself, and either all 
around it, like the apple aphis, or on or near the buds, like the plum and 
peach aphides ; the females, having thus provided for their future spring 
progeny, die off in the autumn ; the eggs survive the winter. With 
regard to the apple aphis, there is no method more effective than destroying 
the eggs soon after they are laid. They may be seen late in the autumn, 
or early in spring, on the dwarf apple and pear trees, especially the young 
trees that have high stems, because the eggs lie exposed close together on 
the shoots, like grains of gunpowder, and yield a green juice, if pressed. 
We should not, however, press them, but the shoots should be washed over 
with liquid loam, garden earth, or whitewash, which will kill the eggs. 
With regard to the plum and peach aphides, we must wait till they are 
hatched and sitting on the leaves or blossom-buds, when, being of a dark- 
brown, they are easily seen. When the peach-trees begin to put out their 
leaves, examine them thoroughly on account of the aphides, because, at a 
later period, when they are numerous, the trees cannot easily be freed from 
them. Prune off the shoots infested by the aphides, and brush the tree, 
carefully examining every tree in June, July, and August, because the third 
and following generations bring many into the world, that soon obtain wings 
and disperse themselves. 

Small and Large Pear Midges. — This species of midge is very small ; the 
feelers are cylindrical, finely-haired, and composed of sixteen joints, with the 
two basal-joints thicker than the others ; the abdomen is slender, seven-ringed, 
and finely-haired ; there is a knobby two-jointed pair of forceps on the extreme 
point of the body of the male, and the same part of the female is pointed ; 
the wings lie in a parallel direction; the feet are long, thin, and finely- 
haired. According to some, it is a species belonging to the genus Sciara; 
others call it Molobrus. The small pear midge lays her eggs in the blossoms 
when they are still closed. The large pear midge, female, is little more than 
one twelfth of an inch long, and half as thick ; the male is more slender, and 
shorter. The feelers are blackish, and not so long as the body ; the head ia 
black and shining, as is also the thorax ; the proboscis ash-gray ; the abdomen 
of the male a deep black, — that of the female browner, with black rings ; and 
the anal point is quite black; the feet are ash-gray, the tarsi and wings black. 



NOXIOUS INSECTS. 667 

Tlie pears infested by these insects will, on being opened, be found with the 
core eaten out and empty, or half rotten, causing- the fruit to fall to the 
ground, wliile some will be found but little decayed, though containing 
several yellowish larvae, one twelfth of an inch long, and a third as thick, with 
ten segments without feet ; and each having a pointed head, on which two 
black spots stand close together. 

Black Gall Midge. — There are a number of species of this insect. The 
thorax is black, varying to ash-gray backwards, with black lines on the back ; 
tlie scutellum is grayish; the abdomen blackish, with yellow incisions; the 
feet are of a pale-gray, and the feelers are blackish-brown. They are found 
to lay their eggs in the blossom of the pear-tree, as soon as the buds are so 
far developed that in the single blossoms a petal is seen between the seg- 
ments of the calyx. It fixes itself almost perpendicularly in the middle of a 
single blossom, and, piercing the petal through, the eggs are laid on the 
anther of the fetill-closed blossom. The eggs are hatched in a few days, and 
the small larva; bore into the blossom, in or near the stem of the calyx. 
When they have consumed the pulp of the small fruit, they are full-grown, 
and then they leave the tree, to bury themselves in the ground, or else remain 
in the core till the pear falls to the ground. They issue from the earth in 
spring, to propagate their species. 

Paradoxical Pear Plalygaster. — This is a small insect, said to have the 
male organs of generation on the under side of the thorax, and those of the 
female at the extremity of the horn arising from the base of the abdomen, 
and curved over the head. As it is generally thought to be simply parasiti- 
cal upon other insects, we shall not describe it further. 

Rhynchiles {Curculio) Betuleli. — RhyncJiites Bacchus, Sch., has hitherto 
been considered as the peculiar enemy of the vine ; it is, however, never 
found on vines, but only on other kinds of fruit-trees, and is essentially dis- 
tinguished from the Rh. Betuleli by its shining copper-color. The latter 
insect is a small weevil, of a metallic-green or steel-blue color. It is one 
third of an inch long, including the rostrum, — thelatter being nearly a third of 
the whole length ; it is tolerably broad, and turned downwards. On the thorax 
of the male, towards the front on both sides, are observed short spines ; the 
abdomen is almost quadrangular. The spines are wanting on the thorax of 
the female, and her rostrum is shorter. The beetle appears in spring, as soon 
as the trees are in full foliage, and begins its work of destruction in May. It 
makes use of the leaf of the vine partly for a dwelling, and partly for the food 
of its young. When the female has selected a suitable leaf, she cuts the 
petiole with her rostrum almost half through, so that it hangs down. She 
then begins to roll the leaf together, generally alone, but .sometimes assisted 
by the male. While this operation is going forward, she also lays her eggs; 



668 



FARMER S HAND-BOOK. 



that is, she pierces the roll, lays an egg in the opening, and pushes it in with 
her rostrum in such a manner that it remains on the inner surface of the 
leaf. When she has thus introduced five or six eggs, between the different 
folds, she rolls the remaining part of the leaf entirely together, so that it ia 
impossible to discover, from the outward appearance, in what manner the 
eggs were deposited. This beetle also finds the leaves of the pear-tree suit- 
able for its purpose, rolling up the leaves of the leaf-buds. In a few days the 
eggs are hatched in the rolls, and a whitish small worm comes out of each 
egg, with black oblique stripes over the back, and a reddish head. In four 
or five weeks it is fully grown. In the mean time, the petiole and the roll 
have become so dry that they are easily torn off by a moderately high wind, 
and fall to the earth. If this does not take place till the worm is fully grown, 
it leaves the partly-consumed roll, buries itself in the earth, and appears 
again in spring as a weevil. This beetle, therefore, is the real weevil of the 
vine, defoliating it, and preventing the grapes from ripening. As it is toler- 
ably large, it may easily be perceived, and may consequently be destroyed, 
particularly as it allows itself to be taken without flying away. When it is 
numerous in orchards, it should be taken off, and the leaf-rolls pulled off, and 
burnt or crushed. 

Vine Scale Insect. — This insect forms a longish, marbled-brown scale. 
In old age the scale becomes blackish-brown, hemispherical and wrinkled. 
The eggs, which are laid under the body of the- female, are covered with long 
white wool. They are found on vines, particularly in gardens. Their 
destruction is best effected by dry-brushing in autumn or spring 

Fig. 363. 




NOXIOUS INSECTS. 069 

Vine Beetle. — It issues from the earth in spring when the vine has be^un 
to shoot, creeps upon the branches, bites off the leaf and flower buds. The 
largest male specimens are little more than two thirds of an inch long, and 
half an inch broad, black and shining; head large; thorax broad; abdomen 
short; legs rather strong. To protect the vine, the only way is to collect 
and kill the beetle, which carries on its evil practices in open day, and is 
discernible on account of its- form and size. 

Vine Saw-fly. — The saw-fly of the vine is of a jet-black color, except 
the upper side of the thorax, which is red, and the fore legs and under side 
of the other legs, which are pale-yellow or whitish. The wings are semi- 
transparent, smoky-color, with dark-brown veins. The body of the female 
is one fourth of an inch in length ; that of the male is somewhat shorter. 
These flies rise from the ground in the spring, and lay their eggs on the 
lower side of the terminal leaves of the vine. In the month of July the 
false caterpillars, hatched from these eggs, may be seen on the leaves, in 
little swarms. Beginning at the edge, they eat the whole of the leaf to the 
stalk, and thus proceed from leaf to leaf, till they have grown to their full 
size. They then average five eighths of an inch in length ; have twenty-two 
legs ; the head and the tip of the tail are black ; the body, above, is light- 
green, paler before and behind, — the lower side of the body is yellowish. As 
a remedy, it is recommended to strew air-slacked lime upon them, and also 
upon the ground under the vines. 

Canker Wwm. — This insect is most abundant on apple and elm trees : but 
cherry, plum, and lime trees, as well as some others, and many shrubs, suffer 
from them. The leaves first attacked will be found pierced with small holes ; 
these become larger and more irregular when the worms increase in size, 
and, at last, the latter eat nearly all the pulpy parts of the leaves. There is 
a great difference of color even among the same species, of the same age and 
size. When very young, they have two minute warts on the top of the last 
ring ; and they are then generally of a blackish or dusky-brown color, with 
a yellowish stripe on each side of the body ; there are two whitish bands 
across the head, and the belly is also whitish. When fully grown, they 
become ash-colored on the back, and black on the sides, below which the 
pale-yellowish line remains. Some are found of a dull greenish-yellow, and 
others of a clay-color, with slender blackish lines on the sides, and small 
black spots on the back. When not eating, they remain stretched out at 
full length, and resting on their fore and hind legs, beneath the leaves. 
They leave off eating when about four weeks old, and begin to quit the 
trees. After reaching the ground, they immediately burrow in the earth, to 
tlie depth of from two to six inches, and they are there transformed. To 
prevent the ravages of this worm, one method is to bar the ascent of the 



G70 farmer's hand-book. 

wingless female up the stem of the tree. This is done by taking two pretty 
wide pieces of board; plane them; make semi-circular notches in each, 
fitting tliem to the stem or body of the tree, and fasten them together 
securely at the ends. The crevices between the boards and the tree may be 
easily stopped with rags or tow ; then smear the under side of the boards 
with tar. The tar, being defended from the direct rays of the sun, will hold 
its tenacity longer, and therefore need not be frequently renewed. The 
trees, in this way, will be less liable to be injured by the drippings of the 
tar, by leaving a margin of two or three inches on those parts of the boards 
whicn are next to the trees, to which no tar is applied. Another mode of 
intercepting the insect's path is to enclose the trees with collars, or circular 
slips of tin or zinc. And still another mode — though these are only three 
out of nearly a hundred that are practised — is, to dig around the trees, and 
lay the earth smooth ; then take air-slacked lime, and strew an inch thick 
around the trees, to the extent of two or three feet from the roots ; then tar 
the trees. 

Apple-tree Borer. — They are the larvae of a beetle called Saperda 
bivitlala, — the two-striped or the brown and white striped Saperda. This 
beetle varies in length from a little more than one half to three fourths of an 
inch. It comes forth from the trunks of the trees, in its perfected state, 
early in June, making its escape in the night, during which time only it uses 
its ample wings in going from tree to tree in search of companions and food. 
The trees and shrubs principally attacked by this borer are the apple-tree, the 
quince, mountain-ash, hawthorn and other thorn-bushes. The larvse are fleshy 
whitish grubs, nearly cylindrical ; the head is small, horny, and brown ; the 
first ring is much larger than the others ; the next two are very short, and, 
with the first, are covered with punctures and minute hairs ; the following 
rings, to the tenth inclusive, are each furnished, on the upper and under 
side, with two fleshy warts, close together ; the eleventh and twelfth rings 
are very short ; no appearance of legs ; the grub cuts a cylindrical passage 
through the bark, and pushes its castings backwards out of the hole, from 
time to time, while it bores upwards into the wood. The larva state con- 
tinues two or three years, during which the borer will be found to have 
penetrated eight or ten inches upwards in the trunk of the tree, its burrow 
at the end approaching to, and being covered only by, the bark. Here its 
transformation takes place. The pupa does not differ much from other pupae 
of beetles ; but it has a transverse row of minute prickles on each of the rings 
of the back, and several at the tip of the abdomen. The final change occurs 
about the first of June, soon after which, the beetle gnaws through the bark 
that covers the end of its burrow, and comes out of its place of confinement 



NOXIOUS INSECTS. 671 

in the night. Killing it by a wire thrust into the holes it haa made, is one 
of the oldest, safest and most successful methods. 

V. INSECTS INJURIOUS TO FLOWER-PLANTS. 

Eanoig. — Tliis well-known insect, considered, without cause, as very 
dangerous to mankind, must find a place among those chiefly injurious to 
fruit and flowers. Its size varies according to its age and sex. When fully 
grown it measures almost an inch, including the forcep-like appendage at 
the end of the abdomen ; its breadth is one sixth of an inch. The body is light- 
brown, free from hair ; it has very short wing-cases, under which the wings lie 
concealed, folded both longitudinally and transversely. It is usually under 
the bark of trees, in the hollow stems of trees, in rolled-up leaves, and under 
Btones. In orchards, it particularly injures the fruit of trees which are trained 
as espaliers, such as peaches and apricots, which are often entirely pierced 
through in warm weather. They also attack the other sorts of fruits, par- 
ticularly apples and pears. In flower-gardens they destroy carnations, pinks, 
and dahlias, in particular. The only certain method of destroying earwigs 
is by catching them, which is best effected by hollow tubes, laid here and 
there, in orchards and flower-gardens. The common reed is fit for this pur- 
pose, but the hollow stem of the sunflower is even more so, as the insects 
are eager in the pursuit of the remains of the sweet pith. They are also 
easily caught between the folds of paper, or in pieces of cloth and linen laid 
on the ground. They creep into these traps in the morning after their noc- 
turnal rambles, and may easily be shaken out and killed at any time of the 
day. Some place the flower-stands in vessels of water, which prevents the 
earwigs from creeping, but not from flying, upon the plants. 

Orange Scale Insect. — It appears like an elliptical nut-brown shield, and 
i.3 very plentiful on green-house plants, particularly on orange-trees, fasten- 
ing itself upon the branches and leaves, particularly when the trees are 
kept rather warm. It is best destroyed by washing the branches and leaves. 
If this be done in autumn, it is a great advantage, as the old ones cannot 
creep up again. 

Mealy Bug. — This species is reddish, and strewed with white dust. At 
the sides of the twelve segments of the body it is provided with small tuber- 
cles. The male is slender and gnat-like, with two rather broad wings, and 
two long, brush-shaped tail filaments. It attacks a number of species of 
plants, and can only be diminished in number by brushing them oflf carefully 
with soft brushes, and crushing them. 

Oleander Scale Insect. — The female appears as a yellowish, round, flat 
shield, almost destitute of limbs, which sucks plants with its rostrum. The 
shield of the male larva is smaller than that of the female, and quite white- 



672 



FARMER S HAND-BOOK. 



The perfect male is brownish-yellow, dusted with white, and white wings. 
Length, one thirty-sixth of an inch. It lives in amazing numbers on different 
kinds of plants, particularly on oleanders, acacias, aloes, palms, «Sic.,and can 
only be gotten rid of by careful brushings. 

Kosj Scale. — The female is like that of the former. The male pupa is 
linear, doubly furrowed on the back. The perfect male is pale-red, dusted 
with white, and white wings. Length, one thirty-sixth of an inch. They 
live on the stems and old twigs of rose-trees, which are sometimes entirely 
covered with them, and look mouldy. The best way of getting rid of 
them is brushing them off with strong brushes before the rose-trees sprout. 
Rose-trees are much injured by these insects. 

Cactus Scale. — The female bears a great resemblance to the oleander 
scale, only that the muscle-shaped shield is more oblong and darker. The 
male is orange-yellow, the pupa linear, doubly furrowed, powdery-gray, 
l.iives principally on the different species of cactus. 

Sweet Bay Scale. — The shield of the female is oval-shaped, brown, with 
a reddish-yellow elevation before. The male is pale cherry-red ; the body 
flat ; the horns or feelers rather shorter than the body. The shield of the 
larva the same as the female, but narrower. It is difficult to remove, as it 
is so firmly seated that brushing is not always sufficient ; a pointed stick 
must therefore be had recourse to. 

Rose Moth. — In early spring, as soon as the rose-tree begins to bud, a 
very dangerous enemy to the growth of its leaves and blossoms arrives. It 
is the more to be dreaded, as, from its smallness and peculiarity of form, it 
is easily overlooked. If the new leaf-shoots are closely examined, a little 
brownish scale is found here and there attaclied to them ; and upon nearer 
inspection, we shall be convinced that it is a little case, in which a worm, 
the larva of a small moth, is concealed, which gnaws the tender shoots. 
When it has devoured one shoot, it removes with its house, and attacks 
duother ; and thus, in a short time, one of these larvae can strip a whole 
branch of its shoots. The larva which lies in the little case is about half an 
inch long ; yellow, with a black head, and black-spotted collar. It under- 
goes pupation in its case, which enlarges from time to time, as necessity 
requires. The moth appears at the end of May. The whole body is silvery 
shining gray ; the upper wings strewed with minute black dots, deeply 
fringed at the posterior edge ; the under wings are narrow, pointed, with 
very long fringes. The only certain way of preserving rose-trees from this 
enemy is to look for the small cases in early spring, before the foliage is 
developed, when an experienced eye will easily discover them. They must 
be crushed immediately. 

Plant Mite, or Red Spider. — A small insect of the spider class. It is 



NOXIOUS INSECTS. 673 

scarcely visible to the naked eye ; has eight legs ; its color changes from 
yellowish to brown and reddish, and on each side of the back is a blackish 
spot. In the open air it usually attacks kidney-beans. Among trees, the 
young limes mostly suffer, and the mites are found in thousands on the under- 
side of the leaves. These leaves assume a dirty-yellow or brownish appear- 
ance, and in the middle of summer the trees acquire an autumnal hue. 
Frequently sprinkling the plants with cold water has been found efficient as 
a means of destroying these insects. Also repeatedly fumigating the hot- 
houses with strong tobacco-smoke injures them in some degree. 

VI. INSECTS INJURIOUS TO MEADOWS. 

General Remarks. — Most of the insects that choose the various sorts 
of corn for their food do not reject the other sorts of grasses, in the meadows. 
The herbage of the meadows suffers from the roots of the grass-plants being 
injured, which is chiefly occasioned by the larvaj of various species of cock- 
chaffers living in the earth. When bare spots are seen on meadows, we 
may be sure that the larva of the cockchafler are there carrying on their 
work of destruction. But the large swarms of those smaller species of cock- 
chaflJers sometimes seen flying about, towards evening, in the meadows, in the 
spring, and at the beginning of summer, and the round holes which we 
frequently find in meadows, through which they had crept out of the earth 
clearly show that they had passed the first period of their life there, and at 
the expense of the herbage. 

Unspotted Lady-bird. — An insect injurious to many of the artificial 
grasses. It has been observed on the conniion tare, sanfoin, and the differ- 
ent sorts of clover. This larva is only one sixth of an inch long, yellowish- 
white, with single green spots, and the upper side of the body covered with 
prickles. Its transformation takes place on the leaves. The pupa is light- 
yellow, covered with minute hairs of the same color. The perfect insect is 
almost globular, yellowish-red on the upper side, with a brownish-red spot on 
tlie thorax. The abdomen is brownish-black, and the legs reddish, or reddish- 
brown. A good soil and moist weather, which will cause the herbage to 
grow quickly and luxuriantly, and to be often mown, are the chief requi- 
sites for diminishing the insect. By often removing the cut fodder from the 
field, the insect will be disturbed in its propagation. 

Migratory Locust. — An insect destructive to all vegetation. Their 
native country is in the plains of Asia, between the Black and Caspian 
Seas, Syria, Palestine, the northern coast of Africa, Egypt, &c., where 
they sometimes increase to an incredible multitude ; and after eating up 
everything in their native country, favored by the wind, they perform great 
journeys in prodigious swarms. Their swarms often measure several hun- 
57 2s 



6t4 farmer's hand-book. 

dred fathoms in diameter, and are capable of darkening the sun, like thick 
clouds. When they have alighted in a place, they spare nothing that their 

Fig. 364. 




*•*< 



sharp teeth can master. Grain of all sorts, meadows, vineyards, and the 
foliage of trees, are to them equally welcome as food. They stay till they 
have eaten up everything in the country, and transformed it into a desert, 
and then they resign themselves to the guidance of the wind, wherever it 
may take them. Besides the locusts laying waste large tracts of country by 
their voracity, and causing famine, they become also a real scourge to man- 
kind, from the stench which arises from their dead bodies when they are 
veiy numerous, and which breeds dangerous diseases. 

This insect is one of the larger species of the genus to which it belongs, 
fts length, from the head to the points of the wings, is from two to two and 
a half inches. Its head and neck are green, its body brownish, the uppei 
wings brown, melting into greenish, and with darker quadrangular spots ; 
the under wings are transparent, and greenish towards the body. The blue 
upper jaws, which, on the inner surface, are furnished with sharp teeth, are 
very characteristic organs, which they apply effectually to devouring the 
vt'getation. 

Eye-grass Moth. — A moth injurious to the different species of grass, and 
other meadow herbage. The moth is of middling size ; the male, with 
extended wings, is nearly an inch broad, and black, with yellow notches on 
the abdomen ; the wings are thin, black, and fringed with the same color. 
The female has a thick, long abdomen, which is whitish-gray, and woolly 
at its exterior ; wings small, slender, brownish-gray, and not adapted for 
flying. The caterpillar is found in April and May, living on rye-grass and 
many other plants in meadows ; its ground-color is velvety-black, yellow at 
the incisions and sides, with a black head and small yellowish warts, having 
ash-gray hairs on them. The destruction of this caterpillar is very difficult, 
as it prefers living in long grass in the day-time, or in the ground. Br*)ak- 



NOXIOUS INSECTS. 675 

fng up the meadows in autumn appears to be the best method of destroying 
the pupae concealed there. 

Aiitkr or Grass Moth. — A moth injurious to meadows. It is of middling 
size ; its head and back are yellowish-brown, the collar lighter, almost yel- 
low ; the abdomen and legs are brownish-gray, the latter with darker joints; 
the upper wings are usually brownish-gray, with a darker mixture in the 
middle ; the under wings are yellowish-gray. The caterpillar is brown or 
blackish, with five lighter stripes along the back ; the first and last sections 
are covered with a hard, smooth scale ; the stripes meet at the edge of the 
anus ; the abdomen is blackish. The larvae are an inch long, and they 
undergo their transformation about midsummer, within a light cocoon, under 
moss, stones, &c., changing into a blackish-brown, shining pupa. ' The food 
of the caterpillar consists of all the soft sorts of grasses. It lives at the 
roots, and eats all the germs. Although it is in existence in autumn, lies 
benumbed in the earth in winter, and begins to eat again in the spring, yet 
the effects of its devastations appear chiefly in the beginning of June, when 
it has changed its skin for the last time. The only means of extirpating or 
diminishing this caterpillar consists in surrounding the attacked places, aa 
the ground permits, with shallow ditches, or by means of a plough with 
deep furrows, as broad as possible, and turning pigs into these places to 
devour the insects. 

VII. INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE COTTON PLANT. 

Cotton Worm. — This pest, commonly known as the " army worm," 
makes its appearance at intervals, sometimes even of the length of twenty 
years. It is produced from the eggs of a fly, deposited on the under side 
of the leaf of the cotton plant during the night, and hatched out in a few 
days. This fly belongs to the moth tribe, and has little horns projecting 
from the head, which terminate in a bristle-like point, are of a drab 
color, and measure five lines in length. Its bent wings overlap upon 
its body ; the under surface of the breast is of a dull, silvery-white, 
insensibly terminating on the abdomen and wings in a russet color, the 
upper surfaces of the wings and back of a changeable golden color, with 
iron-colored, zigzag lines traversing the surfoce crosswise; the poste- 
rior margins bordered with a narrow, pale, pinkish stripe, containing 
small notches. A black spot marks the upper surface of each wing, 
about the centre of the base ; and the legs are white ; the four hinder 
ones being very long, as compared with those in front, which are short 
and slender. The insect is about nine inches long from head to tail, and 
measures about as much between the tips of the expanded wings. The 



616 FARMER'S HANDBOOK. 

number of eggs which the female deposits is uncertain. When first 
hatched, the worm, although then but a minute living point, immediately 
sets to work to devour the leaf; and, when it matures, which it does very 
speedily, it wraps itself up in a leaf, like the caterpillar, casts its skin, 
becomes a chrysalis, and, in ten days, again bursts forth a perfect fly, 
which continues the work of reproduction. As soon as all the leaves in 
one field are consumed, this terrible army takes up its line of march for 
the neighboring one, there to prosecute the work of devastation. Late in 
the season, however, another fly, of the ichneumon species, seizes upon 
the cotton-worm as a depository for its eggs, and thus exterminates the 
destroying army. The cotton fly is supposed to be a native of tropical 
climates, and to come hither, at long intervals in search of its peculiar 
food, after having entirely exhausted the home supply. 

This worm is furnished with six fore, eight middle, and two hind feet: 
the two first of the middle feet being small, imperfect, and apparently 
useless for the purposes of progression, which is efiected by alternately 
stretching out the body, and again contracting it in the form of an arch. 
When touched the worms double themselves up, and spring to a distance 
several times their length ; but if undisturbed when not feeding, they rest 
on the leaf with the fore part of the body elevated and slightly curved, 
sometimes varied by a sidelong, swinging motion. 

Remedies. — Although many remedies have been suggested and adopted 
for destroying the fly before it has deposited its eggs — such as building 
fires or placing lights in the fields — nothing has yet proved of any avail in 
staying its increase after it has once made its appearance in any particular 
district, until it is destroyed by the ichneumon fly. 

The Red Bug, or Cation Stainer. — This is a very destructive insect on 
a cotton plantation, as it clusters in large numbers on the opening boll, 
and so discolors the cotton as to render it unfit for the fabrication of 
white goods. The male is about three-fifths of an inch in length from 
the head to the point of tlie abdomen ; the wing-cases are flat, brownish- 
black, and edged with a distinct yellowish line ; the under wings, hidden 
under the wing cases, are transparent, veined, yellowish in color, and 
clouded with black ; the tibiae and tarsi are black ; the under parts of the 
body, as well as the thighs of the fore legs, present a bright red appear- 
ance ; and each segment of the former is marked with rings of yellowish 
white. The head and eyes are red ; the feelers four-jointed and black. 
The female resembles the male in shape and color, but differs in length, 
measuring about seven-tenths of an inch from head to tail. The nearer 
the bolls approach maturity, the more injury do these bugs do to the 



NOXIOUS INSECTS. g'jf 

cotton, by depositing their faeces on the wool, and imparting to it a red- 
dish stain, which is indelible, and considerably lessens its market value. 
As winter approaches, they either retire to the shelter of old stumps, 
or burrow into the ground at the root of the cotton plant, where they 
hybernate. 

Bemedies. — They may be collected from the plants by depositing in their 
vicinity small slips of sugar-cane, on which they will cluster; and they 
may also be greatly reduced in numbers by burning out all stumps and 
dead trees standing in the fields. 

T/ie Boll Worm, — This very destructive worm is hatched from the eggs 
of a moth, which is of a pale yellow, or shining ash color. Its body and 
wings are one inch and an eighth in length ; the thorax is slightly convex 
and downy; the proboscis, which is folded spirally underneath, is doubloi 
and half an inch long; the eyes are large, clear, and yellowish-green; 
the feelers spindle-shaped, with very hairy joints. The abdomen and 
wings are white ; the first being covered with downy hairs, and the latter 
marked with a distinct, wavy, dark band near the border. The legs are 
six in number. These moths multiply very rapidly; the female laying 
between 500 and 1000 eggs on the fourth day, and dying three or four 
days subsequently. During the day they lie concealed among the grass 
and weeds, making their excursions entirely after sunset. Tliis insect is 
known as the Fhalccna Zea, or corn moth, of which three generations are 
produced during the course of a year. The second brood, which is hatched 
late in July, or early in August, finding but little corn upon which it can 
prey, is forced by necessity to deposit its eggs on the buds of the cotton 
plant, or, as is sometimes the case, on the leaves. When first hatched, 
the larva spins a web, in which it wraps itself, and, if by any accident 
thrown from its position, it remains suspended by a single thread. After 
the lapse of two or three days it descends from the tops of the cotton and 
from the ends of the limbs, and commences its depredations by eating 
through the calyx of the petal contained within the flower, which causes 
the floral leaf to turn yellow, and the form to fall off. This operation is 
repeated until four or five forms are destroyed, when it enters a boll, and 
there lies concealed, feeding on its substance, until the time arrives f|)r 
its transformation. When full-grown, the worm will measure from one 
to two inches in length, and, at first sight, appears to be of a pale yellow, 
or light green color, though it has eight longitudinal strokes of white, 
brown, and green, with one or two dots on each segment of the body, 
along the lowest streak : it is smooth and shining in appearance, being 
devoid of hair, with the exception of a few on each segment. It is cylin- 
57* 



618 FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 

drical in form, and tapers a little toward each end ; but it is rather thick 
in proportion to its length. It has sixteen legs — six in front, eight in 
the centre, and two behind — and creeps along with a gradual motion, 
quite unlike that of the army worm, which moves with a looping gait. 
The head is brown, smaller than the body, and oval. After changing its 
skin several times, and attaining its full size, the boll worm enters the 
ground, where it wraps itself up in a silken cocoon, and changes into a 
chrysalis, from which, in a month or six weeks, a perfect moth emerges. 

This worm destroys an immense number of buds, which, falling off 
•when very young, are not readily observable as they lie upon the ground, 
on account of their dark and withered appearance. When a bud is about 
to fall, the worm forsakes it, and either attacks another, or else fastens 
itself to a leaf, on which it remains until it sheds its skin, when it con- 
tinues its ravages until it has acquired strength sufficient to enable it to 
penetrate the nearly-matured bolls, which, if not entirely devoured, are 
Bubsequently rotted by the moisture which penetrates through the punc- 
tures made by the worm. Bolls which have been injured by the worm, 
can be readily distinguished by the small hole through which it entered, 
and, when dissected, will frequently be found partially filled with ita 
faeces. 

Remedies. — As the moth makes its excursions only after sunset, large 
numbers of them may be destroyed by lighting fires on the bordei's of 
the fields, to which they are attracted by the light. Success has also 
attended the experiment of placing plates, containing a mixture of vinegar 
and molasses, on stakes scattered through the fields, and the moths were 
thus trapped, in their eagerness to feed upon the mixture, the odor of 
which drew them to it in considerable numbers. The benefit derived 
from the introduction of a brood of young pigs into a cotton-field is incal- 
culable, as they will scent out, root up, and devour every worm, grub, or 
chrysalis, without at all interfering with the cotton plants. 

The Cotton Louse. — This is a species of aphis, which pierce the outer 
coatings of the leaves, principally on the under side, and, by constantly 
draining the sap from the plant, enfeeble it, and cause the leaves to curl 
up, turn yellow, and drop ofi". As the season advances, the young shoots 
of the plant are also attacked, and frequently covered with these pests. 
On their first appearance they are very minute, and of a greenish color, 
but as they grow older, they change to a dark green, and, in some cases, 
assume a nearly black color. When full grown they are about one-tenth 
of an inch in length, and their fecundity is most astonishing — Providence 
having gifted them with a procreative power possessed by no other 



NOXIOUS ANIMALS. 679 

known insects. They are alternately oviparous and viviparous, and tho 
sexual impregnation of one female sufBees for all the generations vrhich 
proceed from it during the succeeding year. The impregnated ova are 
deposited in the axils of the leaves, either of the cotton plant, or of some 
neighboring tree, and are hatched the following spring, producing wing- 
less, six-footed larvas, which produce brood after brood, without connexion 
with the male. Each succeeding brood is more fully developed than the 
preceding, until, at last, winged males and females are produced ; by 
■which the ova are developed, impregnated, and laid — and thus provision 
is made for the continuance of the species for another year. As a set-off 
against the enormous fecundity of tliis louse, they are eagerly souglit for 
and devoured by several tribes of small birds. The iclineumon fly also 
destroys a large number by depositing a single egg in the body of a louse, 
where it is hatched into a grub, which devours the interior substance, 
leaving but a grey and bloated skin. Another fly, called the syrphus, 
also makes war upon them very vigorously; the parent fly depositing her 
eggs amongst the lice, where they are speedily hatched into grubs by the 
heat of the sun, which immediately seek for, seize, and suck out the juices 
of the louse, throwing away the empty skin. 



VIII. ANIMALS INJURIOUS TO CULTIVATED FIELDS. 

The Pocket Gopher, or Povched Eat. — Description. — This animal, 
when full grown, measures eleven inches in length from the tip of the 
nose to the end of the tail — the latter being two inches long. The head 
is quite large; the nose blunt; the eyes remarkably small; the ears 
nearly concealed ; the whiskers scant, and not as long as the head ; and 
the incisor teeth large and protruding. On the sides of the head lai'ge 
pouches are situated, which are lined with fur, and extend back to the 
shoulders. The incisor teeth are yellow, the feet and nails white ; the 
color of the body generally of a reddish-brown, but lighter on the belly; 
the legs are short ; the fore feet strong, and armed with very large, curved 
nails, of which the centre one is the longest ; the hind feet and nails are 
smaller, and the tail, which has generally but a scant covering of hair, 
is entirely bare at the tip. 

Location and Habits, — The gopher is a prairie animal, confined to the 
Western States and Territories, and throws up a mound of earth on the 
prairie, in which it constructs a nest and rears its young. From the nest 
subterranean galleries radiate in every direction, frequently intersecting, 
and forming a complete labyrinth, the various turnings and windings of 



680 FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 

•which extend for miles. These galleries communicate with the surface 
by means of shafts constructed at intervals of a few feet apart on one 
side of the gallery, and through these openings the animal conveys the 
dirt excavated ; but when they have served the purpose for which they 
were made, they are closed with earth from below. The main galleries 
measure about four inches in diameter, and the side-cuts about two or 
three inches. The animal conveys the earth out in its pouches, from 
which it is ejected by muscular force — being sometimes thrown to a dis- 
tance of two feet. Loving obscurity, it rarely comes to the surface while 
the sun is shining, always migrating from place to place at night; and 
when compelled to seek food above ground, it invariably selects the 
night-time for that purpose. It lives on roots, and is very valiant — 
offering battle when interfered with. Five or six young are usually pro- 
duced at a birth ; though but one litter is brought forth during the year, 
generally in the months of March or April. 

Devastations on CvUivated lands. — This animal is the pest of the prairie 
farmers; scarcely one crop escaping its ravages. They are very partial 
to meadow lands, and not only devour the roots of the grasses, but render 
the surface so uneven by the mounds they throw up, as to materially 
interfere with the operations of mowing and raking. Grain fields are 
also attacked ; and, even after the grain is stacked, the gophers burrow 
under the stacks, and destroy large numbers of sheaves. All the root 
crops suffer by them ; and in potato fields they wrirk under the hills, and 
remove the tubers ; sometimes destroying one-half of a crop before the 
withered and dying vines give warning of the mischief that is being done. 
Melons and pumpkins are occasionally bored out, and filled with earth, 
and the orchards and hedges of osage orange destroyed by cutting off 
their roots. 

JRemedies. — The only effectual mode of getting rid of this very trouble- 
some animal is by trapping it; though it may sometimes be shot by 
patiently watching for it near the newly-opened shafts, which may readily 
be discovered by the freshly-excavated earth. Poison has been success- 
fully used, in the form of strychnine or arsenic, introduced into vegeta- 
bles, and placed in their subterranean quarters. 

Sdvery Mole [Scalops argentutns). — The true mole, common in Eng- 
land and other parts of Europe, has never yet been found in the United 
States, and the nearest approacli to it is the shrew mole [Scalops aqiiati- 
cus), which, in its habits, very nearly resembles the one here described, 
though its general habitat is the Southern and Eastern States, where it 
is designated the ground mole, while that of the silvery mole is the 



NOXIODS ANIMALS. 681 

Western and South-western States. In length, the silvery mole measures 
six or seven inches from the point of the nose to the root of the tail, which 
is about one inch long: the head, which is attached to the shoulders by a 
very short neck, is remarkably stout, and the flexible, cartilaginous snout 
projects nearly three-eighths of an inch from the upper jaw; the eyes are 
concealed from view; there is no external ear, and the auditory apparatus 
is a small hole, situated far back on the head ; the fore-feet, which are 
large and flat, measure nearly one inch in breadth, and but little less in 
length, including the nails, which latter are large, flat beneath, and 
slightly ai'ched above ; the hind feet are slender and weak, and the solea 
of all the feet are entirely divested of hair, but on the upper surface they 
are thinly covered with short hairs, as is also the tail ; the tip of the snout 
is entirely naked, but Airther back it is sparsely clothed with short hair; 
the tail, snout, feet, and nails, present a light, flesh-colored appearance, 
and the latter are tipped with white ; and the fur, which is very thick, 
soft, and glossy, is of a silver-grey color, slightly tinged with lead at the 
external ends. 

Habits. — The nests of these animals are usually of considerable size, 
well lined with soft grass, leaves, &c., and excavated in the ground, at a 
depth varying from six to eighteen inches beneath the surface. They 
usually select an old log or stump for the location of their nest, which is 
approached by galleries, radiating from it in every direction, some of 
•which are sunk below the level of the nest, and enter it from beneath. 
The female produces from two to four young at a birth, and appearances 
would seem to indicate the birth of at least two litters each year. Like 
all of its species, it rarely appears on the surface in daylight, except 
during dull and cloudy weather, confining its excursions almost entirely 
to the night. Its natural food is insects and worms, for which it burrows 
in the ground, though it is accused of destroying the root crops, and even 
of eating the corn after it has been planted. It is possible that the mole 
may resort to vegetable food to compensate for a deficiency of its usual 
supply of animal diet ; but, whether it does or does not, the damage which 
it causes to the growing crops, by cutting off the roots of plants in its 
search for its natural prey, is of itself sufficient to constitute it a nuisance 
in any locality where it exists in considerable numbers; yet the enlight- 
ened agriculturist, while he takes measures for preventing an undue in- 
crease, will be careful not to exterminate an animal which destroys cut- 
worms, wire-worms, slugs, and all the other noxious pests usually found 
in the gardens and fields. 

Remedies. — Dogs maybe trained to follow the mole's tracks to his nest, 



682 FARMER'S HAND-BOOK. 

and dig him out; or traps of various kinds may be resorted to with con- 
siderable success. Poisoned meat, shredded fine, when freshly laid in 
their burrows, has proved serviceable ; and in corn-fields they have been 
prevented from doing injury by crossing the furrows between the rows, 
which prevents them from readily driving their galleries through tho 
soil. 



APPENDIX. 



Tables by the use of which a Farmer may be assisted in his calculations. 

LAND MEASUREMENT 

Mat be simplified by the use of the annexed Tables, by which tV.e solid content of any piece 
Of land may be ascertained, after its length and width in yards have been ascertaioed by 
stepping it off. , . - . , , , . , 

Explanations. — If it is required to know the '•ontent of a piece of ground which measures 
630 yards in length by 460 yards in breadth, taae from the respective columns the sums there 

Kiven: thus, 

" 460 yards wide. 



A. R. P. 

Jrom under 400 and opposite 500 41 1 12 

« « 400 " " 30 2 1 37 

« « 60 " " 500 6 32 

M « 60 " " 30 1 20 



50 1 21 * solid content 



So also for the content of a piece of land 775 yards 
long by 675 yards wide, take — 



60 


400 


■ 















575 yards wide. 



500 

500 

75 

75 

75 





A. 


R. 


P. 


500.. 


. 51 


2 


24 


200.. 


. 20 


2 


26 


75.. 


. 7 


3 





500.. 


. 7 


3 





200. 


. 3 





16 


75.. 


. 1 





26 



92 12 1 solid content. 



75 


en 
g 

009 




8 

o 




o< 



If a field have unequal sides, measure it through the centre both ways, by which an average 
■will be at once procured; or the lonj: and short sidvs mny be separately measured, and h;ilf the 
difference deducted from the lon^'est fide for the true length. The content of a triiingular fiiOd 
may be learned by measuring the longes^t side, and then laying off a siraight line from the 
centre of that side to the opposite point of the triangle: one-half the length of the straight 
line will give the mean width, while the length will be represented by the measure of the 
longest side. A field havini: five or more sides may also be thu.s measured, after it has been 
divided off into triangles; whirh may be readily done by running a line diagonally through 
its centre from one corner to the opposite, for the length, and then other lines from this, as a 
ba.se, to the remaining corners of the field : the nieao width will be one-half the length of each 
of these lines added together. 



that the 



nusi be divided bv 40 and 



• In adding up the different sums, it will be necessary to nbsi 
the ronds by 4, and Ihe roods and acres carried lo their respective columns Thus 
of the column marlied perches, which, divided by 40, Ihe number of perches m - 
roods and 21 perches: we place Ihe 21 under the colu 
thai column, 5; but this »e divide bv 4, the num' - ' 
»nd carry I In Ihe acres, which Ihen sums up 50. 

t In makin<- Ihe calculations for the followinj tables, all parts of a perch under one-half have not been rei^arded, 
while all ovlr one-half have been counted as a whole number. This will explain Ihe slight discrepancy ber» 
exhibited between lhi« »u»wer and that obUined by a more elaborate calcuUliou, whicli would lijow 1 1 percM* 
kuteadoTlZ t"""** 



shows that it conlains 2 
lid carry 2 to Ihe next, which will make the sum ol 
■ of roods in an acre, place Ihe figure I under Ihe rood column. 



684 



APPENDIX, 



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APPENDIX. 



685 



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58 



686 



APPENDIX. 



TABLE II. 

Exhibiting the Number of Plants which may be raised on a Perch of Land, 

at different Distances : 



Trees or Plaots. 


Number of Inches 
asunder. 


Square Inches to 
each. 


Inches over. 


261 


15 by 10 


150 


54 


272 


12 — 12 


144 


36 


392 


10 — 10 


100 


4. 


490 


10—8 


80 


4 


612 


8—8 


64 


86 


816 


g — 6 


48 


36 


1069 


6—6 


36 




1633 


6—4 


24 


12 


1960 


5—4 


20 


... 


2450 


4—4 


16 


4 



TABLE III. 

Exhibiting the Number of Plants which may be raised on an Acre of Land, 

at different Distances : 



Trees or Plants. 


Number of Feet 
asunder. 


Square Feet to 
each. 


Inches over. 


108 


20 by 20 


400 


360 


134 


18 — 18 


324 


144 


160 


161^ - 16M 


27214 




302 


12 — 12 


144 


72 


435 


10 — 10 


100 


60 


680 


8—8 


64 


40 


888 


7—7 


49 


48 


1089 


8—5 


40 


... 


1210 


6—6 


36 




1361 


8—4 


32 


8 


1452 


6—5 


30 


... 


1555 


7 — 4 


28 


20 


1815 


6—4 


24 


... 


2178 


5—4 


20 


... 


2722 


4—4 


16H 


8 


2904 


5—3 


15 


... 


3630 


4—3 


12 


... 


4840 


3—3 


9 


... 


5445 


4—2 


8 


... 


7260 


3—2 


6 




8712 


2J^- 2 


5 


•.. 


10,S90 


2-2 


4 


... 


19,305 


IJ^- IM 


2J4 




21.780 


2—1 


2 




43,560 


1-1 


1 


... 



TABLE IV. — Rotations practised 


in Pennsylvania 


. — {Farmer's Cabinet). 


Years. 


Field No. 1 


Field No.2 


Field No.S 


Field No.4 


FieldNo.5 


Field Nd.6 


Field No.7 


Field No.8 


1st Year 


Wheat 

Bye 

Clover 

Wheat 

Corn 

Oats 

Wheat 


Rye 

Clover 

Wheat 

Cora 

Oats 

Wheat 

Clover 

Wheat 


Wheat 

Corn 

Oats 

AVheat 

Clover 

Wheat 

Rye 

Clover 


Clover 
Wheat 

Rye 

Clover 

Wheat 

Corn 

Oats 

Wheat 


Corn 

Oats 

Wheat 

Clover 

Wheat 

Rye 

Clover 

Wheat 


Wheat 

Clover 

Wheat 

Rye 

Clover 

Wheat 

Corn 

Oats 


Clover 

Wheat 

Corn 

Cats 

Wheat 

Clover 

Wheat 

Rye 


Oats 

Wheat 

Clover 

Wheat 

Rye 

Clover 

Wheat 

Corn 


2d " 


3d " 

4th " 


3th " 


6th " 


7th " 


8th " 









APPENDIX. 



68: 



TABLE V. — For determining the Weight of Cattle by Measurement, 



This Methnd of ascertaining the 
Wiight nf Cattle w/iile liviiig is of the 
utmost utility to all those who are 
not experienced judges by the eye, 
and, by the following directions, the 
■weight cnn be ascertained within a 
mere trifle. The beast standing 
square.tiike a string and put it round 
the body just behind the shoulder- 
blade: measure with a foot-rule 
the circumference of the animal in 
feet and inches, which is called the 
girth ; then with tlie string measure 
from the bone of the tail, which 
plumbs the line with the hinder 
part of the buttock, along the back 
to the fore-part of the shoulder- 
blade; take the dimensions with 
the foot-rule, as before, which is the 
length, an<l work the figures in the 
follfiwing manner: Girth of the bul- 
lock, 6 feet 4 inches; length, 6 feet 
3 inches; which, multiplied tog**- 
ther, make 3S]^ square superficial 
feet; that, again, multiplied by 23 
(the number of pounds allowed to 
each superficial foot of all cattle 
measuring less than 7 and more 
than 5 feet in girth), makes 765 
lbs. Where the animal measures 
less than 9 and more than 7 feet 
in girth. 31 is the number of pounds 
to each superficial foot. Suppo.sing 
any .small beast should measure 2 
feet in girth, and 2 feet along the 
back, which, multiplied together, 
make 4 square feet; and that, mul- 
tiplied by 11 (the number of pounds 
allowed for each square foot of cat- 
tle measuring less than 3 in girth), 
makes 44 lbs. Again, suppose a 
calf, .sheep, etc. should measure 4 
feet 6 inches in ginh, and 3 feet 9 
inches in length ; these, multiplied 
together, make 16?^ square feet; 
which, multiplied by 16 (the num- 
ber of pounds allowed to all cattle 
measuring less than 5 feet and more 
than 3 in girth), gives 26S lbs. The 
girth and length of black cattle, 
sheep, calves, or hogs, may be as 
exactly taken in thi.s way as will be 
necessary for any computation or 
■valuation of stock, and will answer 
exactly to the weight of the four 
quarters, exclusive of the olTal. A 
deduction must be made for a half- 
fatted beast of 1 pound in 20 from 
♦.hat of a fat one; and for a cow 
that has had calves, 1 pound addi- 
tional ia every 20 must be allowed. 



Ginh. 


Length. 


Weight. 


Girth. 


Length. 


Weight. 


ft. in. 


ft. in. 


lb,. 


ft. in. 


/(. in. 


lbs. 


4 3 


3 


ISO 


6 6 


4 6 


633 




3 3 


195 




4 9 


668 




3 6 


210 




5 


704 




3 9 


225 




5 3 


739 




4 


240 




5 6 


774 


4 6 


3 


202 




5 9 


809 




3 3 


219 




6 


844 




3 6 


236 




6 3 


882 




3 9 


253 


6 9 


4 6 


683 




4 


270 




4 9 


721 




4 3 


2S6 




6 


759 


4 9 


3 3 


244 




5 3 


797 




3 6 


263 




5 G 


S35 




3 9 


2S2 




5 9 


874 




4 


300 




6 


911 




4 3 


319 




6 3 


949 




4 6 


338 


7 


4 9 


776 




4 9 


357 




5 


816 


6 


3 3 


271 




5 3 


857 




3 6 


292 




5 6 


898 




3 9 


315 




6 9 


939 




4 


334 




6 


979 




4 3 


355 




6 3 


1020 




4 6 


377 




6 6 


1061 




4 9 


398 


7 3 


4 9 


832 




5 


420 




5 


876 


5 3 


3 3 


298 




5 3 


919 




3 6 


321 




6 6 


963 




3 9 


344 




5 9 


1007 




4 


367 




6 


1051 




4 3 


390 




6 3 


1095 




4 6 


413 




6 6 


113S 




4 9 


436 


7 6 


5 


937 




5 


459 




5 3 


984 


6 6 


3 6 


352 




5 6 


1031 




3 9 


378 




5 9 


1U78 




4 


403 




6 


1125 




4 3 


428 




6 3 


1171 




4 6 


453 




6 6 


1218 




4 9 


478 




6 9 


1265 




5 


504 


7 9 


5 


1001 




5 3 


529 




5 3 


1051 


6 9 


3 9 


413 




5 6 


1101 




4 


440 




5 9 


1151 




4 3 


468 




6 


1201 




4 6 


495 




6 3 


1251 




4 9 


623 




6 6 


1301 




5 


651 




6 9 


1351 




5 3 


679 




7 


1400 




5 6 


606 


8 


5 3 


1120 


6 


4 3 


510 




5 6 


1173 




4 6 


540 




5 9 


1220 




4 9 


570 




6 


12S0 




5 


600 




6 3 


1333 




5 3 


630 




6 6 


1386 




5 6 


660 




6 9 


1440 




6 9 


690 




7 


1493 




6 


722 


8 3 


5 6 


1247 


6 3 


4 6 


6S5 




5 9 


1304 




4 9 


618 




6 


1.361 




5 


651 




6 3 


1417 




5 3 


683 




6 6 


1474 




5 6 


716 




6 9 


1531 




5 9 


748 




7 


1588 




6 


781 




7 3 


1644 




6 3 


814 









68S 



APPENDIX. 



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APPENDIX. 



689 



TABLE VII. 
Exhibi'titig the Distance nrdinavifi/ travelled by n Horse in phitighing an Acre of 
Land, together with the Qitautifi/ of Land worked during a Day 9 hours long ^ 
supposing the Home to travel at the rate of 16 and 18 miles per day, respectively. 



Width of Furrow. 
-1 Slice in Inches. 




NuDiber of acres 
ploughed per day 
of 9 hours, the 
horse travelling 
at the rale of 18 
miles per day. 


Number of acres 
ploughed per dav 
of 9 hours, the 
horse travelling 
at the rale of 16 
miles per day. 


Width of Furrow. 
Slice in luches. 




Number of acres 
ploughed per day 
of 9 hours, the 
horse travelling 
at the rale of 18 
miles per day. 


Number of acres 
ploughed per day 
of 9 hours, the 
horse travelling 
at the rate of 16 

1 miles per day. 


14 1-8 


1 1-4 


1 1-8 


46 


2 1-6 


8 1-3 


7 2-5 


8 


12 1-4 


1 1-2 


1 1-4 


47 


2 1-10 


8 


7 3-5 


9 


11 


1 3-5 


1 1-2 


48 


2 1-12 


8 3-4 


7 3-4 


10 


9 9-10 


1 4-5 


1 3-5 


49 


2 


8 9-10 


7 9-10 


11 


9 


2 


1 3-4 


60 


2 


9 9-10 


8 1-10 


12 


8 1-4 


2 1-5 


1 9-10 


51 


1 9-10 


9 1-5 


8 14 


13 


7 1-2 


2 1-3 


2 1-10 


52 


1 9-10 


9 1-2 


8 2-5 


14 


7 


2 1-2 


2 1-4 


53 


1 9-10 


9 3-4 


8 1-2 


15 


6 1-2 


2 3-4 


2 2-5 


54 


1 4-5 


9 4-5 


8 9-10 


16 


6 1-6 


2 9-10 


2 3-5 


55 


1 4-5 


10 


8 


17 


5 3-4 


3 1-10 


2 :5-4 


66 


1 3-4 


10 1-4 


9 


18 


5 1-2 


3 1-4 


2 9-10 


57 


1 3-4 


10 2-5 


9 1-5 


19 


5 1-4 


3 1-2 


3 1-10 


58 


1 7-10 


10 3-5 


9 1-2 


20 


4 9-10 


3 3-5 


3 14 


69 


1 7-10 


10 34 


9 1-2 


21 


4 7-10 


3 4-5 


3 1-3 


60 


1 3-6 


10 9-10 


9 7-10 


22 


4 1-2 


4 


3 1-2 


61 


1 3-5 


11 1-5 


9 4-5 


23 


4 1-4 


4 1-5 


S 7-10 


62 


1 3-5 


11 1-3 


10 


24 


4 


4 1-3 


3 9-10 


63 


1 3-5 


11 1-2 


10 1-5 


2.5 


4 


4 1-2 


4 


64 


1 1-2 


11 7-10 


10 1-3 


26 


3 4-5 


4 3-1 


4 1-5 


65 


1 1-2 


U 4-5 


10 1-2 


27 


3 3-5 


4 9-10 


4 1-2 


G6 


1 1-2 


12 


10 Z-b 


28 


3 1-2 


5 3-8 


4 1-2 


67 


1 1-2 


12 14 


10 4-5 


29 


3 1-2 


5 1-4 


4 3-5 


68 


1 1-2 


12 2-5 


11 


30 


3 1-2 


5 3-4 


4 4-5 


69 


1 2-5 


12 3-5 


11 1-8 


31 


3 1-5 


5 


5 


70 


1 2-5 


12 .3-4 


11 1-3 


32 


3 1-10 


5 4-5 


5 1-4 


71 


1 2-5 


12 9-10 


11 1-2 


S3 


3 


6 


5 1-3 


72 


1 2-5 


13 1-8 


11 3-5 


34 


2 9-10 


6 1-5 


1-2 


73 


1 1-3 


13 1-3 


11 4-5 


35 


2 4-.J 


6 1-3 


5 3-5 


74 


1 1-2 


13 1-2 


12 


36 


2 3-4 


6 1-2 


5 4-5 


75 


1 1-3 


13 3-5 


12 1-8 


37 


2 2-:? 


6 1-4 


6 


76 


1 3-10 


13 4-5 


12 14 


38 


2 3-5 


6 9-10 


6 1-S 


77 


1 3-10 


14 


12 1-2 


39 


2 1-2 


7 1-8 


6 1-3 


78 


1 1-4 


14 14 


12 3-5 


40 


2 ]-2 


7 1-2 


6 1-2 


79 


1 1-4 


14 2-5 


12 34 


41 


2 2-5 


7 3-4 


6 3-4 


80 


1 1-4 


14 3-5 


12 940 


42 


2 1-3 


7 


6 2-3 


81 


1 1-5 


14 34 


13 140 


43 


2 3-10 


7 4-5 


7 


82 


1 1-5 


15 


13 1-4 


44 


2 


8 


7 1-10 


83 


1 1-5 


15 1-8 


13 2-5 


45 


2 1-5 


8 1-6 


7 1-4 


84 


1 1-6 


15 1-3 


13 3-5 



TABLE VIII. 

Live and Dead Weight of Cattle. 

The dead weight generally appro.iches three-fifth.o of the live weight, or about 55 piir cent.; 
though it sometimes differs widely, as the following table of actual observations will demoo- 
strate : 



DESCRIPTION OF AN1M.\L. 


Live Weight 

in pounds. 


Dead Weight 
in pounds. 


Tallow- 
hounds. 


An Aberdeenshire ox 

A short-horned heifer 

A short-horned ox * 


1859 
1BS4 
1848 
1685 


1182 
1087 
1261 
945 


229 

218 
196 
208 





68- 



2t 



69C 



APPENDIX. 



TABLE IX. 

Shotoing hoto much Ifamire will be necessary to an Acre of Ground, supposing the 
Heaps to be of certain Sizes, and deposited at definite Distances : 





NUMBER 


OP LOADS REQUIRED TO 


THE ACRE, IF 


THE HEAPS ARE 


PLACED 1 


StJPPOSED 
NUMUER OF 
























6 


9 


13 


15 


18 


31 


34: 


3T 


30 


33 


36 


HEAPS IX 


Feet 


Feet 


Feet 


Feet 


Feet 


Feet 


Feet 


Feet 


Feet 


Feet 


Feet 


EACH LO.\D. 


apart. 


apart. 


apart. 
303 


apart. 


apart. 


apart. 


apart. 


apart. 


apart. 


apart. 


apart 


1 


1210 


538 


294 


135 


99 


76 


60 


49 


40 


34 


a 


605 


269 


152 


97 


68 


50 


38 


30 


25 


20 


17 


3 


404 


180 


101 


65 


45 


33 


26 


20 


17 


13 


11 


4 


303 


135 


76 


49 


34 


25 


19 


15 


13 


10 


8 


5 


242 


108 


61 


39 


27 


20 


16 


12 


10 


8 


7 


6 


202 


90 


51 


33 


23 


17 


13 


10 


9 


7 


6 


7 


173 


77 


44 


28 


20 


15 


11 


9 


7 


9 


5 


8 


152 


68 


38 


25 


17 


13 


10 


8 


7 


5 


4 


9 


135 


60 


34 


22 


15 


11 


9 


7 


6 


5 


4 


10 


121 


54 


31 


20 


14 


10 


8 


6 


5 


4 


3 



TABLE X. 

The Eesults of Observations on the Reproductive Powers of Domestic Birds and 

Animals. 



KINDS OF ANIMALS. 


Proper Age 
for Repro- 
ductioD. 


Period of du- 
ration of 
the Power 
of Repro- 
duction. 


Proportional 
Number of 
Females to 
each Male. 


Season for 
CopuIatioD 


GESTATION AND 
BATION. 


INCU- 


Short- 
est Pe- 
riod. 


Mean 
Period. 


Longest 
Period. 


Mare 

stallion 


4 years. 

5 " 
3 " 

3 « 
2 " 
1 " 

1 " 

2 " 
2 " 

4 « 
5 

2 " 
2 « 

6 months 


Years. 

10 to 12 

12 to 15 

10 

5 

6 

6 

6 

6 

5 

10 to 12 

12 to 15 

8 to 9 

8 to 9 

6 to 6 

s'to's 


20 to 30 
30 to"40 

e'to'io 

20 "to" 40 
12'"to"l5 


May 

June 

Nov.' 
March 

Nov. 

>iay" 

Feb." 


Days. 
322 

"240 

"lie 

109 
"i50 
"365 

"55 

'"17 

24 
24 

26 
19 

28 
27 
16 


Days. 
347 

"283 

"154 

115 

"156 
"380 
"00 

■"24 

27 
26 

30 
21 

30 
30 
18 


Days. 
419 

"321 

"iei 

143 
"163 
"391 
"63 

"28 
30 
30 

34 
24 

32 
33 

20 


Cow 

Bull 








She Goat 


Ile-Goat 


Ile-A.ss 


Bitch 


Do" 




Turkey, sit- » Hen ... 

ting on the % Duck.. 

eggs of the S Turkey 
Hen, sitting-) j, . 

on the eggsS.»^f •• 

of the 3'ien- 

Duck 

Goose 





APPENDIX. 



691 



TABLE XI. 

The proportion of Inorganic Substances contained in several of the most commonly 
cultivated Enculents. 

{Prof. Joh7ist<m's Lectures.) 



DJOROANIO SUBSTANCES. 



Potash 

Soda 

Limp 

Magnesia 

Oxide of iron 

Oxi<le of manganese. 

l^ho.oplioric acid 

Sulphuric Acid 

Chlorine 

Chloride of sodium . 

Alumina 

Silica 



PERCENTAGE OF CONTAINED IN 



Wheat. 


0.1 Is 
wilhoul 
husk. 


Barley. 


Rye. 


Field 
Beans. 


Peas. 


Turnips. 


Pota- 
toes. 


27.72 


26.18 


13.64 


22.08 


33.56 


36.03 


39.82 


55.75 


9.05 




8.14 


11.67 


10.60 


7.42 


10.86 


1.86 


2.81 


5.95 


2.62 


4.93 


5.77 


5.29 


12.75 


2.07 


12 03 


9.93 


7.46 


10.35 


7.99 


8.46 


4.68 


6.28 


0.C7 


0.40 


1.48 


1.36 


0.56 


0.99 


0.89 


0.52 


49.81 


43.84 


38.93 


49.55 


37.57 


33.29 


6.69 


12'57 


0.24 


10.43 


0.10 


0.98 


1.00 


4.36 


13.15 


13.65 




0.26 


0.04 




0.73 


3.13 


3.68 


4.27 




6.06 


6.21 












1.17 


2.67 


27.10 


0.43 


1.15 


0.51 


7.05 


4.23 


99.50 


99.76 


99.72 


101.35 


98.93 


100.00 


99.37 


100.20 



TABLE XII. 

The proportion of Inorganic Substances contained in the Refuse of the most com- 
monly cultivated Esculents. 

(Prof. Johnston's Lectures) 



INORGANIC SUBSTANCES. 



Pota.sh 

Soda 

I.iime 

Masni'sia 

Oxide of iron 

Oxide of man>;anese. 

Pho.iphoric acid 

Sulphuric acid 

Chlorine 

Chloride of sodium... 

Alumina 

Silica 



Straw 

of 
Wheat. 

12.44 
0.16 
670 
3.82 
1.30 



3.07 
5.82 
1.09 



65.38 
99.78 



PERCENTAGE OF CO.NTAINED IN 



Oats. 



19.14 
9.69 
8.07 
3.78 
1.83 



2.50 
3.25 
3.25 



Husk 
of 
Oats. 



8.13 

3.15 
1.09 
1.33 
0.61 
1.54 
6.46 
0.73 



76.16 
99.20 



Barley. 



6.31 
O.til 
9.53 



3 08 
l.<;3 
0.97 

1.39 
70.58 



Rye. 



17.36 
0.31 
9.06 
2.41 
1.36 



3.82 
0.83 
0.46 



Beans. 



53.08 
1.60 

19.99 
0.ti9 
0.22 
0.16 
7.24 
1.09 
2.56 



0.32 
7.05 



4.73 



54.91 
6.88 
0.40 
0.15 
4.83 
6.77 
0.09 



1.21 
20.03 



692 



APPENDIX. 



TABLE XIII. 

The proportion of several Elementnry Siibsfuncea contained in 100 parts of aomt 
of the most commonly cultivated Esculents, 

(Prof. Johnston's Lectures.) 



■\Vheat 

Baiiuy 

Oats 

Rye 

ludian corn 

Buckwheat 

Kice 

Beans 

Peas 

Potatoes 

Turnips... 

Carrots 

Mangel-Wurzel.... 

Meadow hay 

Clover hay 

Pea straw 

Oat straw 

Wheat straw 

Barley straw 

Kye straw 

Imlian corn stall'; 



PERCENTAGE OF 



15 
15 
16 
1-2 
14 
15 
l:; 
14 
14 
75 
SS 
85 
So 
14 
14 
to 15 
1:3 
to 15 
to 15 
to 15 
12 



Husks ni 
woody 
nore. 



Starch, Gum, 
and Sugar. 



15 

15 

20 

10 to 20 

6 
25 

3 
8.U 

9 

i 



55 
60 
60 
60 
70 
50 
75 
40 
50 
18 
9 
10 
11 
40 
40 
45 
35 
30 
SO 
38 
52 



10 to 19 
12 to 15 
14 to 19 
10 to 15 
12 

8 

7 
24.28 
24 

2 

1.5 

1.5 

2.0 

7.1 

9.3 
12.3 

1.3 

1.3 

1.3 

1.3 

3.0 



2 to 4 

2 to 3 
5 to 7 

3 to 4 
5 to 9 
0.4 
0.7 
2.3 
2.1 
0.3 
0.3 
0.4 



2 to 5 

3 to 5 
1.5 
0.8? 

2 to 314 



1.7 



2 
3 

4 
2 

3 
1 

3^ to 4-5 
lj<;to2 

5 to 10 

9 

4 to 6 



3 to 



TABLE XIV. 

The proportion of several Elementary Substances contained in the produce of one 
Acre planted with the Esculents most commonly cultivated as food for Stock. 

(Prof. Johnston's Lectures.) 

The starch, pum, and sugar form fat, while the gluten, albumen, and caseine add to the 
flesh and muscle. 



ONE ACRE PLANTED IN 



Field beans.... 

Peas 

Oats 

Hay 

Potatoes 

Carrots 

Turnips 

Wheat straw. 

Oat straw 

Barley straw . 







Weight of 


V/cight of 




Produced per 


Weight of 
Grain per 
Bushel. 


Gluten, Albu- 
men, and Ca- 


Starch, Gum, 
Sugar, and 


Weight of 
Water in the 


Acre. 


seine in the 


Fat, in the 


produce of one 




produce of one 


produce of 


Acre. 






Acre. 


one Acre. 






lbs. 


lbs. 


lbs. 


lbs. 


25 bush. 


64 


450 


672 


256 


25 " 


66 


3S0 


845 


208 


50 " 


42 


290 


1.168 


336 


3 tons. 




480 


2.790 


752 


12 " 




600 


3,330 


20.250 


25 " 




1,200 


5,S00 


47.6(10 


30 " 




800 


6.700 


56,950 


3.000 lbs. 




40 


940 


450 


2.700 « 




36 


970 


324 


2,100 " 




28 


646 


252 



DEFINITION OF WORDS, 

SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL, AND PECULIAR, 

COMMONLY USED IN CONNECTION WITH AGRICULTURAL AND KINDRED SU.JKCTS. 



Abdomen. — Lower part or lower belly of an 
aiiiniiil. 

Ahrasum. — Wearing or rubbing. 

Acari. — Ticks; small articulated Insects. 

Acetate. — A neutral salt. 

Achromalic. — Destitute of color. 

Acrid. — Sharp, punjcent. bitter. 

Aeulealed. — Havinsr prickly points. 

Acute4()bed. — Havinj^ pointed divisions. 

Aerate. — 'J'o combine with carbonic acid or 
fixed air. 

Aftermath. — A second crop of grass in the 
same .season. 

AlhiiTiien. — A substance found in some seeds 
and vcLretables, rtsi-mbling in character 
the white of an eir;;. 

Alburnum. — The 8 ifler part of wood, between 
the inner bark and thi' wood ; sap. 

AVi-nline. — llavitie: the properties of alkali. 

Alluvion. — Alluvial land. 

Alterative. — A medicine which changes the 
habit, and restores healthy functions. 

Aluminous. — Perfaininar to alum or alumina. 

Ammniiia. — .\ volatile alkali, existins; in its 
purest form in a state of gas. 

Amphibittus. — Capable of living in air and 
water. 

Animalcula. — An animal, the figure of which 
is discernible only through a magnifying 
glasj. 

Annual. — A plant that lives only during one 
year. 

Annular. — Having the form of a ring. 

Anti^nnre. — The horns or feelers of insects, 
projecting from the head. 

Antniitr. — Uefoie. in time or place; prior. 

Anther. — Tbe case or part of the flower con- 
taining pollen, orthe male part of aflower. 

Anti.'rp'ic. — Opposing or counteracting putre- 
faction. 

Aperient. — Opening; laxative. 

Apex. — The tip, point, or summit, of any- 
thing. 

Aphi.':.^.^. genus of insects ; vine-frclter | plant- 
louse. 

Apterous. — A wingless insect. 

Arable. — Fit for ploughing or tillage. 



Aroma. — The odoriferous principle; a pleasant 

smell. 
Aromatic. — Fragrant; spicy; odoriferous. 
Arsenious. — Containing arsenic. 
Artery. — A vessel or tube conveying blood 

from the heart to all parts of the body. 
Ascescent. — Having a tendency to sourness; 

acidity. 
Astringent. — Binding; strengthening; opposed 

to laxative. 
Atlas. — The first joint of the reck. 
Aviary. — An enclosure for keeping birds con* 

fined. 
Awn. — The beard or bristles of grain and 

grasses. 
Aivned. — Having a beard. 
Aw7>le.^s. — Destitute of a beard. 
Axil. — The space or angle formed by a branch 

or a leaf with the stem. 
Azotized. — From azote, a gas fatal to animal 

life. 
Basal. — Pertaining to or constituting the 

base. 
Base. — The principle matter of a mixture or 

composition. 
Bast. — Kope, or cord, made of the bark of the 

lime-tree or linden. 
Batten. — To fatten. A piece of board or scant- 
ling, a few inches wide. 
Bay. — An enclosed place, in a barn, for depos- 
iting hay. 
Bere. — The name of a species of Scotch barley. 
Biennial. — Once in two years; continuing two 

years. 
Bifurcation. — A forking, or division into two 

brauches. 
Bii). — A species of barley. 
Blanched. — Whitened. 
Bout. — .\ turn ; a single part of an action cap 

ried on at successive intervals. 
Brindle. — Spottedness. 
Bidyracenus. — Kesenibling butter. 
Calcareous. — Partaking of the nature of lime. 
Calcined. — Keduced to a powder by the action 

of heat. 
Calycine. — delating to. or like, a calyx. 
Calyx. — The outer covering of a flower. 

(693) 



694 



DEFINITION OF WORDS. 



Cambium. — K glutinous secretion, which, in 
spring, separates the alburnum of a plant 
fiom its inner bark. 
Cajisule. — The seed-vessel of a plant. 
Cai'bon. — Pure cliarcoal. 
Carbonaceous. — I'ertaining to charcoal. 
Cartilage. — risl le. 
Caseous. — Resembling cheese. 
Cauhsceni. — Having a perfect stem; rooted 

like the cabb.ige. 
Caustfc. — Any substance which, applied to 

living animals, acts like fire. 
CeJhdar. — Consisting of or containing cells. 
Cellulose. — The substance left after the action 

of solvents upon vegetable ti.ssues. 
Chap. — The upper and lower part of the jaw. 
Ohermes. — An insect. 

Chine. — The backbone or spine of an animal. 
Chronic. — Continuing a long time. 
Chrysalis. — The second apparent change of 

the maggot of an insect, before its appear- 
ance as a butterfly. 
Cliurr-xvrrrm. — An insect that turns about 

nimbly. 
Chf/le. — A whiti.sh fluid separated from food 

by means of digestion. 
Cleat. — A piece of wood used to fasten ropes 

upon. 
Coagulate. — To curdle; to thicken; to change 

from a fluid to a solid mass. 
Cocoon. — An oblong ball, or covering of silk. 

fabricated by the silk-worm; the egg-shaped 

ease of the chry.salis. 
Collateral. — IMug by the side; side by side; 

on the side; side to side. 
Cdter. — The fore iron of a plough, with a 

sharp edge, that cuts the earth or sod. 
Concave. — Hollow; arched, like the inner sur- 
face of a spherical body. 
Conical. — Round, and decreasing to a point. 
Convex. — Rising or swelling on the interior 

surface into a spherical or round form. 
Coriaceous. — Leathery: resembling leather. 
Cwolla. — The innermost of the envelopes by 

wliich the organs of fructification of many 

flowers are covered; the .second of two en- 
velopes that surround the stamen and 

pistil. 
Culinary. — Relating to the kitchen. 
Culm. — The stalks or stems of corn or grasses. 
Card. — The thickened part of milk, which is 

formed into cheese. 
Curvilinear. — Having a curved line. 
Cutaneous. — Belonging to the skin. 
Cuticle. — The thin, exterior coat of the skin. 
Decoction. — The strength of leaves, seeds, or 

other matter, drawn out by boiling. 
Defecate.— To free from impurities; to purify. 
De.ntata. — Pertaining to the teeth. 
Dentated. — lljiving points like teeth. 
Dew-lap. — The fle.sh that hangs from the 

throat of oxen, which laps or licks the 

dew, in grazing. 
Diadelphous. — Having the stamens united in 

two parcels. 
Diagonal. — Reing in an angular direction. 
Diameter. — A right line passing through the 

centre of an object, from one side to the 

other. 
Dichotomous. — Regularly iivided by pairs. 
Disk. — The whole surface if a leaf; the fle.shy 



substance between the stamens and 
pistil. 

Diuretic. — Tending to produce discharges of 
urine. 

Drench. — A draught; a portion of medicine to 
purge a beast. 

Drupe. — A general name for a one-celled, one 
or two-seeded fruit, which does not open 
when ripe, as the peach, cherry, plum, &c 

Edihle. — Fit to be eaten as fijod. 

Electricity. — A very thin fluid diff'u.sed through 
most bodies, rapid in its motion, and pow» 
erful. 

Elliptical. — 0-^a\. 

Elongation. — The state of being extended. 

Elytra. — Tlie sheaths of an insect; a case 
covering the wings. 

Emarginate. — Having a notch at the point. 

Emasculation. — Castration. 

Embracing. — Enclosing; clasping; holding in 
embrace. 

Embrocalio7i. — The liquid with which an af- 
fected part is washed. 

Embryo. — Anything in its first rudiments, or 
unfinished stale. 

Epidermis. — A thin membrane, covering the 
skin of animals or the bark of trees. 

Erosion. — Katen away; corrosion; canker. 

Esculent. — Any plants fit for food; though 
sometimes used as a general name for edi- 
ble roots. 

Esophagus.— The gullet; the canal through 
which food and drink pass to the stomach. 

Espalier. — A row of trees planted about a 
garden or in hedges. 

Expression. — The act of pressing or squeezing 
out. 

Extravasuted. — Forced or let out of its proper 
vessels. 

Exude. — A discharge of moisture, juice, or li- 
quid, by bodies and plants. 

Fallowing. — Ploughing and harrowing land 
without .sowing it. 

Farina. — Fine dust or powder contained in 
the anthers of plant,s. 

Farinaceous. — Mealy; pertaining to meal. 

Faucet. — The spigot of a barrel. 

Febrile. — Pertaining to fever. 

Fecal. — Containing or consisting of dregs, sedi- 
ment or excrement. 

Fecida. — The green matter of plants; starch 
or farina. 

Fecundation. — The act of making fruitful or 
prolific: impregnation. 

Fermentation. — Internal motion of the parti- 
cles of animal and vegetable substances, 
occasioned by heat or moisture, and caus- 
ing an extrication of gas and heat. 

Ferruginous. — Partaking of iron. 

FetlocX-. — A tuft of hair growing behind the 
pastern joint of many hor.'^es. 

Fetus. — The young, in the womb or egg, when 
perfectly formed. 

Fibrous. — Compo.sed or consisting of fibres. 

Figment. — A thing feigned or imagined. 

Filament. — A fibre: a fine thread, of which 
flesh, nerves, skin, plants, roots, &c., are 
composed. 

Filiform. — llayiog the form of a thread or 
filament. 

Filtrate. — To purify; to strain. 



DEFINITION OF WORDS. 



695 



Fining. — The purification of substances by 
the addition of ingredients which separate 
and deposit the objectionable matter. 
Flaccid. ^?'oit and weak ; limber. 
Flank. — The fleshy part of an animal's side 

between the ribs and the hip. 
Fltshy. — I'lunip; pulpy. 
Flitch. — A hog's side salted and cured. 
Floccule.nl. — Adhering in locks or flakes. 
Floret. — -^ little flower. 
Foment. — To bathe with warm liquors. 
Fructificalion. — Rendering productive of fruit. 
Fulcrum. — A prop or support. 
Fungus. — A mushroom ; a spongy excrescence. 
Fusiform. — Sha.\tcd like a spindle. 
Gastric. — Belonging to the belly or stomach. 
Germen. — The ovary or seed-bud of a plant. 
GMtaiion. — Carrying young in the womb from 

conception to delivery. 
Girt. — A bandage or strap. 
Glaucous. — Dull green ; having a blui.sh tinge. 
Globular. — Round; spherical. 
Globule. — A small particle of matter of a sphe- 
rical form. 
Glume. — The outer covering of corn and 

gra.sses ; the husk or chaff. 
Gluten. — A tough, elastic, gray substance, 

found in the flour of grain. 
Gramineous. — Pertaining to grass. 
Granulation. — The act of forming into grains. 
Gypsum. — Plaster-stone. 
Haclde. — Raw silk; any flimsj' substance un- 

spun ; a machine to di'ess flax or hemp. 

Haulm. — Straw ; the stem or stalk of grain. &c. 

Headland. — A ridge or strip of unploughed 

land at the ends of furrows, or near a fence. 

HeaOiery. — A place overgrown with shrubbery 

of any kind. 
Hemisplierical. — Containing half a sphere or 

globe. 
Herbaceous. — Having green and cellular stalks; 
being annual as to stem, but perennial as 
to root. 
Hexagonal. — Having si.\ siiles and six angles. 
Hhpid. — RonL'h : having stiff hairs or bristles. 
Hoar-frost . — White particles of ice formed by 

the congelation of dew or watery vapors. 
Hoary. — Having a grayish hue. 
Hock. — Joint of an animal between the knee 

and the fetlock; a part of the thigh. 
Holm. — Low, flat; rich land, on the banks of a 

river. 
Hopper. — A wooden trough through which 
grain passes into a mill ; a ve.s.sel in which 
seed-corn is carried for sowing. 
Horizuntal. — Parallel to the horizon; on a 

level. 
Hybrid. — Mongrel; nn animal or plant pro- 
duced from the mixture of two .'■pecies. 
Hydatid. — A bliddei-like animal, filled with 
aqueous fluid, which iifsts the human 
internal organs particularly the liver; an 
insect found in the skulls of sheep. 
Hydraulic. — Relating to the conveyance of 

water through pipes. 
Hydrogen. — A gas constituting one of the ele- 
ments of water. 
Jmhricatid. — Indented with concavities; over- 
lapping 
Impervious. — Not penetrable by light, nor per- 
meable to fluids. 



Incised. — Cut; notched. 

Incisive. — Having the quality of cutting or 
separating: incisive teeth, in animals, are 
the fore teeth. 
Indigenous. — Native to the country or place. 
Injection. — Throwing in; liquid medicine 
thrown into the body by means of a sy- 
ringe or pipe. 
Innoxious. — Free from mischievous qualities. 
Integument. — That which naturally invests or 

covers another thing. 
Internode. — The space between two joints of a 

plant. 
Interstice. — The space between things. 
Iridescent. — Having colors like the rainbow. 
Irrigation. — A mode of watering land by the 

aid of drains or canals. 
Jugular. — Pertaining to the throat or the 

neck. 
Keel. — The two lowest petals of some flowers. 
Labial. — Pertaining to the lips. 
Lachrymal. — Generating or secreting tears. 
Lanceolate.. — Shaped like a lance. 
Larva. — An insect in the caterpillar state. 
Larynx. — The upper part of the windpipe; a 

cartilaginous cavity. 
Latent. — Concealed. 
Lateral. — Proceeding from the side. 
Lea. — A meadow or plain. 
Legume. — Fruit similar to the pod of a pea. 
Lever. — A bar of any substance turning on a 

support called the fulcrum or prop. 
Ligament. — Anything that ties or unites one 
thing or part to another; a strong sub- 
stance, serving to bind one bone with an> 
other. 
Ligneous. — Consisting of wood. 
lAne. — The twelfth part of an inch. 
Linear. — Consisting of lines; slender; in a 

straight direction. 
Lithe. — That may be easily bent; pliable; 

limber. 
Loliby. — A small h.all or waiting-room. 
Lube. — A division of a iKif. 
Lmigiludinal. — I'.unning lengthwise. 
Lotion. — A liquid preparation for washing tbe 

body. 
Lvpulin. — The fine yellow powder of hops. 
Macerate. — To steep in water until nearly i» 

solvi^d. 
Mal-odiirous. — Having an offensive odor. 
Manipulate. — To work with the hands; to 

handle. 
Marl. — A species of limy earth. 
Matrice — The womb; the place where any- 
thing is formed or produced. 
Mattock. — .A. tool to grub \ip weeds. 
Maiv. — The stomach of beasts; the crop of 

fowls. 
Membrane. — A thin, white, flexible skin. 
Metacarpal. — Part of the hand between the 

wri.«t anil the fingers. 
Metamorphose. — To change into a different 

Ibrm ; to tran.vform. 
.VfV/.s«(((^(.^l'ert:iining to putrefactive effluvia. 
Miilfi'-. — A small iii,>-ect; a gnat or flea. 
Mi<irib. — The miildle rib or vein of a leaf. 
Milch. — Giving milk. 
Molting. — Shedding a natural covering, 14 

hair, feathers, skin, or horus. 
Mongrel. — Of a mixed breed. 



696 



DEFINITION OF WORDS. 



Mucilage.. — One of the elements of vegretables : 
the liquor which moistens the joints of 
animal Vjodies. 
Mucims. — Slimy; glutinous. 
Mulch. — Half-rotten straw. 
Midliim. — A division in a window-frame ; a 

bar. 
Must. — Unfermented wine, newly pressed from 

the grape. 
Nasal. — Pertaining to the nose. 
Navicular. — Shaped like a boat. 
Nitrogen. — An elemt-ut of air called azote, 

fatal to animal life. 
Nocturnal. — Pertaining to the night. 
Normal. — Perpendicular; relating to rudi- 
ments or first principles. 
Norious. — Hurtful ; harmful. 
Oblii/ue. — Not direct; slanting. 
Oblong. — Ijonger than broad. 
Obovate. — Having the narrow end downward. 
Obtuse. — Blunt; not pointed or acute. 
Occipital. — Pertaining to the back part of the 

head. 
Offset. — A shoot; a sprout from the roots of a 

plant. 
Organic bodies. — Bodies with organs on the 
action of which depend their growth and 
perfection. 
Osier. — Willow twig. 
Ova. — Eggs. 

Oval. — Of the shape or figure of an egg. 
Ovary. — The part whoi-e eggs are formed, or 
in which the fetus is supposed to be 
formed. 
Ovate. — Egg-shaped. 
Oviparous. — Bringing forth, or producing 

young by eggs. 
Ovule. — A body destined to become a seed. 
Ovum. — Egii-shaped. 
Oxygen. — That part of air which may be 

breathed; vital air, or the basis of it. 
Pad. — A road; an easy- paced horse; a soft 

saddle; to beat a way smooth and level. 
Paddock. — A small •closure for animals. 
Palmuted. — Having the shape of a hand ; 

webbed. 
Palpi. — Feelers. 
Panary. — Pertaining to bread. 
Panicle. — A species of flowering; unfolding of 

blossoms. 
Parallelogram. — A figure whose opposite sides 

are equally distant throughout. 
Parasitic. — Growing on the stem or branch 

of another plant. 
Parietal. — Bones forming the sides and upper 

part of the skull. 
Parterre. — Level ground laid out and fur- 
nished with evergreens and flowers. 
Pastern. — That part of a horse's leg between 
the jiiint next to the foot and the coronet 
of the hoof 
Peccant. — Morbid ; bad; not healthy. 
Pedicle. — The final division of a common stem 

or stalk. 
Peduncle. — The flower-stalk of a plant. 
Pellet — X little ball. 
Pellicle. — A thin skin or film. 
Pelt. — A beast's skin, with hair on it; a raw 

hide. 
Peitatfi-palmat^. — Having the shape of a bend, 
and of a rough hairy texture. 



Pdiris. — The cavity of the body forming tbe 

lower part of the abdomen. 
Pendulous. — ilanging from a (-tern or branch. 
Pcrcli. — A pole ; a roost for fowls. 
Percolation. — The act of filtering or straining. 
Perennial. — Lastingthrough theyear; a plant 

which lives more than two years. 
Perfin-ute. — To bore throu(;h ; to make a hol« 

or holes through anything. 
Permeable. — That may be passed through 

without displacement of its parts. 
Perspective. — View in the distance. 
Pervious. — That may be penetrated by another 

body or substance. 
Petal. — A flower-leaf. 

Petiole. — A leaf-stalk; the foot-stalk of a leaf. 
Pkennganious. — Having stamens and pistils 

distinctly visible. 
Phosphate. — A salt formed by a combination 

of phosphoric acid with a base of earth, 

alkali, or metal. 
Pile. — The hairy surface of an animal's skin. 
Pi7mate. — Divided into a number of pairs of 

leaflets. 
Pistil. — An organ of female flowers adhering 

to the fruit for the reception of the 

pollen. 
Plait. — A fold ; a tress ; braid. 
Pledget. — A small, flat roil of lint or linen. 
Pollard. — A tree lopped. 
PoUen. — The fine fecundating dust or flour 

contained in flowers. 
Polygamous. — Having male and hermaphro- 
dite, or female and hermaphrodite, or male, 

female, and hermaphrodite flowers, on the 

same, or different plants. 
Pomace. — The substance of ground apples, 

either before or after the cider is ex- 
pressed. 
Porous. — Filled with pores, which are passages 

in tbe skin or substance of a body. 
Posterior. — Coming after; the hinder. 
Postern. — Back; any small door or gate. 
P-obany. — An instrument of whalebone and 

sponge, for clearing the throat or gullet. 
Proboscis. — A snout : an organ formed by the 

prolongation of the nose. 
Prolegs. — Fore legs. 

Propolis.— A thick, odorous substance, resem- 
bling wax. 
Pubescent. — Covered with down or hair. 
Pupa. — An insect in that state in which it r^ 

semblcs an infant in swaddling clothes. 
Piirgutire. — Having the power of cleansing; 

evacuating the bowels. 
Purge. — A medicine that evacuates the body 

by stool. 
Pus. — The white or yellowish matter gene- 
rated in ulcers and wounds. 
Quadrangular. — Square; having four Fides, 

and four prominent angles. 
Quicllime. — Any limy substance deprived of 

its fixed or carbonic air. 
Racemose. — Having the flowers arranged along 

an a.xis, as in the hyacinth and currant. 
Racliis. — A stem that proceeds from the base 

to the top of the flower. 
Rattooninrj. — Sending up many stalks from an 

old root ; several crops being thus gathered 

from one planting. 
Rectangular. — Kight-augled. 



V, 



DEFINITION OF WORDS. 



697 



Rectum. — The third and last of the large in- 
testines. 
Reflected. — Bent, or directed backward. 
Renifi)r»i. — Uavinn the shape of kidneys. 
Rick. — A lonj; pile of grain or hay, sheltered 

witli a kinil of roof. 
RootUl. — A small root, or the fibre of a root. 
Rugose. — A leaf with veins more contracted 

than the surface. 
Rump. — The end of the backbone of an ani- 
mal, wilh the parts adjacent. 
Saccliaritie. — Having the (lualities of sugar. 
Saline. — OonsisLing of salt. 
Scitpe. — The flowering stem of a plant. 
Scar'fy. — To .•icratch; to make small incisions 

in the skin with an instrument. 
Scirni. — A young shoot, twig, or sprout of a 

tree. 
Scrotum. — The place containing the organs of 

generation. 
ScuUeri/. — A place where dishes, kettles. Ac, 

are kept. 
Seedliug. — A young plant or root just sprung 

from the seed. 
Se/)ment. — A part cut off or divided. 
Semilimar. — licsombiing in form a half moon. 
Septic. — Promotive of putrefaction. 
Serous. — Thin: watery. 

Serratimi. — Formation in the shape of a saw. 
Serum. — Thin, transparent part of blood ; the 

thin part of milk. 
Sessile. — Applied to a leaf growing on a stem 

without. having any foot-stalk. 
Seiiform. — Having the form of a bristle. 
Seton. — Small threads, or a twistof silk, drawn 
through the skin by a large needle, for the 
discharge of humors. 
Sheath. — A rudimentary leaf of a plant which 

wraps around the stem. 
Shock. — Si.xteeii sheaves of wheat, rye, &c. 
SIct. — A broad, flat, wooden bar. 
Sole. — The bottoai of a thing, and on which it 

stands upon the ground. 
SoUtari/. — Growing singly. 
Spatulu. — A slice; an instrument for spread- 
ing plasters, Ac. 
Spermatic. — Consisting of seed, or pertaining 

to the elements of production. 
Spike. — A species of inflore.scence, as in wheat, 

rye, Ac; an ear of corn or grain. 
Spikelet. — A small spike: one of a great many 
small spikes collected iu a mass, as in grass. 
Spine. — A large, woody thorn. 
i^i-acle. — A small avierture in animal and 
vegetable bodies through which air passes; 
any small hole or vent 
Spongidle. — A supposed expansion of minute 
parts at the termination of roots, like a 
sponge, for absorbing the nutriment of 
plants. 
Spore, Sparule. — The part of flowerless plants 

which performs the func.ion of seeds. 
Stallion. — .V male horse not castrated. 
Stamen. — .An organ of flowers for the prepara- 
tion of the pollfn o- fscuiidaling dust 
Standard. — A tree or shtub that stands singly 

without being supported. 
Stellate. — When more leaves than two sur- 
round the stem in u ring; resuuibling a 
star; radiated. • 



Slernum. — The breast-bone. 
Stifle. — The joint of a horse next to the but- 
tock. 
Stigma. — The top of the organ of femals 

flowers. 
Stipule. — .\ scale at the base of the leaf-stalk* 
of some plants; or one which protects the 
young leaves. 
Stomata. — Oval spaces between the sides of 
cells, in plants, opening into other cavi- 
ties, and bordered by a rim. 
Stool. — A sucker ; a shoot from the bottom of 

the stem or root of a plant. 
SIrflta. — IJeds; layer.s. 
Strike. — The name given to a single running 

of ungranulated sucar. 
Style. — The middle portion of the organ of 
female flowers, connecting the stigma with 
the germ. 
SuManceolate. — Having somewhat of a lance 

shape. 
Sub-sessile. — Having very short foot-stalks. 
Subsoil. — The bed or layer of earth which lies 

beneath the surface-soil. 
Subulate. — Shaped like an awl. 
Subulate-linear. — Having nwl-shapcd lines. 
SuccuUnt. — Full of juice; juicy. 
Sucker. — The shoot of a plant from the roots 

or lower part of the stem. 
Sulphate. — A neutral salt, formed by sulphu- 
ric acid in combination with any base. 
Sulphuric. — Continuing sulphur. 
Suture. — The seam or joint which unites the 
bones of the skull; a method of clo.sing 
wounds. 
Stvanl. — 'J'he grassy surface of land; turf. 
Swath. — The whole breadth or sweep of a 

scythe in mowing or cradling. 

Talc. — .\ greasy-feeling magnesian mineral, 

having a pearly lustre, used instead of 

chalk for tr..cing lines on wood, cloth, &c. 

Tarsi. — Belonging to the feet. 

Tassels. — The flower ribbons, or heads of 

plants, as of corn. 
Temporal. — Pertaining to the temple or tem- 
ples of the head. 
Tension. — Strained or stretched. 
Teuunus. — Thin; small; minute. 
J'epid. — Moderately warm. 
Terminal. — Growing at the end of a branch or 

stem ; terminating. 
Terrccf. — A rai.scd bank of earth, with sloping 

sides; a balcony. 
Testicle.t. — Male organs of generation. 
Thorax. — The bre.i.st ; the chest; the part of 
the body between the neck and abdomen; 
the second segmint of insects. 
Tibier. — The hones which form the second seg- 
ment of the leg. 
Tonic. — A medicine that gives Tigor and actioo 

to the system. 
Transpiration. — Passing off through the pores 

of the skin. 
Transecrse. — Lying or beins across, or in a 

cross direction ; to overturn. 
Trench. — To cut or dig a ditch or channel : to 
fortify, by cutting a ditch and raising a 
rampart; to furrow, by plouiihing. 
!rc<7>ii«"ui</. — Opening the skull, to reliev* 
the brain. 



698 



DEFINITION OF WORDS. 



Trichotomous. — Having three dWisiona. 

Triennial. — Lasting for three years. 

Trifoliate. — Having three leaves or leaflets. 

Trocar.— An instrument for tapping in case 
of dropsy. 

Tubercle. — A small swelling, tumor, knob, or 
rough point. 

Tuberous. — Roundish, fleshy Tegetable bodies, 
ronnected into a bunch by intervening 
threads. 

Tunicated. — Covered with a tunic or mem- 
branes; coated, as a stem. 

Uterus. — The womb. 

Vacuum. — An empty space; one void of air or 
matter. 

Valve. — A divi.xion of the fruit of a plant. 

V'.ll. — A skin ; a rennet-bag. 

Ventral. — Belonging to the belly. 

Verandah. — An open portico, formed by ex- 
tending a sloping roof beyond the main 
building. 

Vertebra. — A joint of the spine or backbone 
of an animal. 

VeHical. — In a perpendicular direction. 



Vestibule. — The porch or entrance into a 

house; an ante-room. 
Vexillum. — The upper single petal of a flower 

like that of a pea. 
Viscid. — Glutinous: sticky. 
Viviparous. — Producing young in a living 

state. 
Wattle. — The fleshy bunch under the throat 

of a cock or turkey. 
Wear. — A dam in a river to stop and raise the 

water. 
Whey. — The watery part of milk separated 

from the thick part, in making cheese. 
Whorled. — An arranpement of three or more 

leaves or limbs around a common centre. 
Windlass. — A machine for raising great 

weights; a handle by which anything is 

turned. 
Withers. — The junction of the shoulder-bones 

of a horse, at the hottom of the neck. 
Tolk. — The oily secretion from the skin of 

sheep, which renders the pile Boft end 

pliable. 
Zig-zag. — Having short turns. 



INDEX. 



PAGE I 

Abele 501 | 

Abscess in aDimals 3b7 

Acacia 496 j 

African Scoar-Cane. j 

Description 114 

Varieties, soil, rattooning, culture, 

uses , 115 

Age of cattle 324 

" of sheep 344 

Ailanthus 501 

Aldi-rney cattle 335 

Almond 309 

Alterative medicines for animals 368 

Altering the proportion of the ingredients 

in soils 26 

Allhe« frutex 487 

Amaranthus tricolor 487 

Anierio.in horses, Mexican, Canadian, 

United States 361 

American i^ilver Fir 501,504 

American White Spruce 501, 504 

Analysis of soils 25 

Anatomy of the ox 323 

" of the pig 352 

" of the horse 358 

" of the bee 418 

Angelica plant 490 

Animals. Uomkstic. 
Horned nr Neat. 

Breedin!; and rearing 317 

Gestation, time of impregnation 318 

Castrating 319 

Fattening 321 

Age... 324 

Names at diOerent ages 326 

Grazing 337 

M'inter stall-feeding 338 

The Bull. 

How to judge of 322 

Native 325 

Devon 326 

Ayrshire, New Leicester 334 

Uolderness, Galloway, Sussex, Alder- 

ney, Suffolk, Kyloe 335 

llu Ox. 

How to judge of 322 

Anatomy of 323 

Native 32.') 

Devon 327 

Short-horned , 330 

Hereford 332 

Ayrshire 333 



paob 

New Leicester 334 

Holderness, Galloway, Sussex, Alder- 

ney. Suffolk, Kyloe 335 

The Cow. 

How to judge of 324 

Native 325 

Devon 328 

Hereford 332 

Ayrshire, New Leicester 334 

Holderness, Galloway, Sussex, Alder- 

ney, Suffolk, Kyloe 335 

Dairy qualities 335 

Feeding, keeping in good condition, 

milking 336 

Grazing cattle 337 

Winter stall-feeding 338 

Ascertaining the quality of milk 339 

Remarks on Devon cattle 329 

Diseases of cattle 367 

Sheep. 

Rearing, &c 339 

Castrating, weaning, shearing 340 

For the market, food, sheep in moun- 
tainous sections, smearing 342 

Signs of good health, improvement of 

hreed.s, form 343 

Age, wool 344 

Tartar, New Leicester, Dishley 345 

Lincolnshire, Teeswatcr, Devonshire, 

Notts, Romney Marsh. Cotswold 346 

Cheviot, South-Down, Black-faced or 

Heath 347 

Merino 348 

Diseases of sheep 36T 

Swine. 

Breeding and rearing, treatment of 

dam and young 34«> 

Castrating, weaning, treatment after 
weaning, food, disposition of the car- 
cass 350 

Anatomy of 3o2 

China 352 

Berkshire 353 

Suffolk, Woburn, Siamese 355 

Diseases 367 

The H'irse. 

Rearing, breeding, weaning S56 

Castrating, training, and management 

of colts 357 

Food, anatomy 358 

Arabian 359 

Mexican, Canadian, Morgan, Gifford, 

Goss, European 361 

Norman, Clydesdale, Suffolk 363 

(699) 



TOO 



INDEX. 



Diseases 367 

Tlie Ass. 
KearinK, breeding, training, age, char- 
acteristics 362 

The Mule. 

Rearing and breeding 363 

T/ie Gnat. 

Description, &c 363 

Varieties 364 

The Dog. 

Rearing and breeding 364 

Newfoundland 365 

Shepherd's 366 

Drover. Setter, Terrier, Pointer 367 

Diseases of animals 367 

Monthly Calendar of Operations 381 

Insects injurious to animals 636 

Animated oats 487 

Anise 210 

Annual flowers, culture of 476 

Annular budding 576 

Antler, or grass moth 675 

Aphis 646,665 

Apiary. 

Aspect of 419 

liocation, shelter, trees 420 

Water, shrubs, sun, flowers 421 

Apoplexy in animals 367 

" in fowls 414 

Appindix. 

Tables, by the use of which a Farmer 

may be assisted in his calculations . 683 
Table I. — For reducing yards into acres, 

rood.s, and perches 684,685 

Table II. — Exhibiting the number of 
plants which may be raised on a 
perch of land at different distances. 686 
Table III. — Exhibiting the number of 
plants which may be raised on an 
acre of land at different distances ... 686 
Table IV. — Rotations practised in 

l'ennsylv<ania 686 

Table V. — For determining the weight 

of cattle by measurement.. 687 

Table \'I. — Mixtures of grass .seed re- 
commended for pastures, lawns, 
mowing-grounds, &c , on different 
kinds of soils, and the quantity to be 
sown on each acre, together with the 
weight per bushel of each kind of 

seed, &c., Ac 688 

Table VII. — Exhibiting the distance 
ordinarily travelled by a horse in 
ploughing one acre of land, together 
with the quantity of land worked 
during a day 9 hours long, supposing 
the hor.se to travel at the rate of 16 
and 18 miles per day respectively ... 689 
Table VIII. — Live and dead weight of 

cattle 689 

Table IX. — Showing bow much ma- 
nure will be necessary for an acre of 
ground, supposing the heaps to be 
of certain sizes, and deposited at 

definite distances 690 

Table X. — The results of observations 
on the reproductive powers of domes- 
tic birds and animals 690 

Table XI. — The proportion of inorganic 
substances contained in several of 
the most commonly eullivated escu- 
lents 691 



Table XII.— The proportion of inorga- 
nic substances contained in the re- 
fuse of the most commonly cultivated 

esculents 691 

TableXlII . — The proportion of several 
elementary substances contained in 
100 parts of some of the most com- 
monly cultivated esculents 692 

Table XIV. — The proportion of several 
elementary substances contained in 
the produce of one acre, planted with 
the esculents most cultivated as 

food for stock 692 

Apple. 

Propagation, soil, and situation 250 

Monthly Calendar of Operations 313 

Grafting, budding, pruning, training. 66-4 

Diseases 599 

Insects injurious to 660 

Summer Sorts. 

Varieties — American Summer Pear- 
main, Benoni, Cole 254 

Early Harvest 251 

Early Red Margaret, Early Strawberry, 

Juueating Manomet Sweeting 254 

Red Astrachan 251 

Red Qnarrenden, Sapson, Spice Sweet, 
Summer Queen, Summer Rose, 

Tucker 254 

Williams' Favorite 263 

Fall Sorts. 

Bars 256 

Belmont 258 

Bread and Cheese, Early Joe, Fair- 
banks 256 

Fall Pippin 2-55 

Fall Wine 256 

Fameuse 258 

Gilpin 256 

Golden Ball 258 

Golden Sweet 256 

Gravenstein 255 

IIereford.shire Pearmain, Hurlbut 258 

Jersey Sweeting 256 

Jewett'sRed 288 

Lei and Pippin, Lowell, Lyman's Large 

Summer 256 

Lysconi, Magnolia 258 

Mexico, Moses Wood, Pomme Royal... 256 

Porter 254 

Rambo, Richardson, Romanite, Sassa- 
fras or Haskell Sweet, Seek-no-fur- 
ther, Summer Bellflower, Superb 

Sweet 256 

Thompkins 258 

Winthrop, Yellow Bellflower 250 

Winter and Spring Snrts. 

American Golden Ru.sset 261 

Baldwin 258 

Blue Pearmain 261 

Burlington Greening 260 

Danvers Winter Sweeting, Detroit 261 

Esopus Spitzenberg 258 

Fort Miami. Gloria Mundi 261 

Golden Pippin 260 

Golden Reinette, Hollow Crown Pear- 
main 261 

Hubbardston Nonsuch 268 

Jersey 260 

Jonathan, King 261 

Lady 260 

Ladies' Sweeting, Leicester Sweeting, 



INDEX. 



701 



Little Pearmain, Minister, Never- 

fail 261 

Newton Pippin 269 

Northern Spy, Norton's Melon, Old 

Nonsuch 261 

Pecker 258 

Peck's Pleasant, Prior's Red, Kaule's 

.Tanette 261 

Rhode Island Greening 2tJ0 

Rockrimraon 261 

Roxbury Kusset 259 

Steele's Ked Winter 258 

Swaar, Tewksbury Winter Blush, Tol- 
nian Sweeting, Vandevere, Waxen... 261 

Westfield Seek-no-further 258 

Wood's Greening 261 

Cider Siirts. 
Camfield, Harrison, Hugh's Virginia 

Crab, Ked Streak 261 

Crab Apples. 

Ked Siberian 261 

Yellow Siberian 262 

Cider. 

How to make 262 

Fermentation of the juice 262 

Preparation of casks 263 

Fining and bottling, vinegar 264 

Apricot. 

Propagation, soil, and situation 264 

Varieties — Breda, Black, Brussels 266 

Early 264 

Large Early 265 

Moorpark 266 

Peach 265 

Red .Masculine, Roman, Turkey, White 

Masculine 265 

Monthly Calendar of Operations 313 

Grafting, budding, pruning, training. 684 

Diseases 599 

Insects injurious to 650 

Apkil. 

Kitchen-garden calendar for 217 

Fruit calendar 314 

Live-stock calendar 384 

Floricultural calendar 508 

Arabian horses 369 

Arbors for gardens 484 

Architecture —(See Index of Rural Archi- 
tecture) 512 

Army worm 67u 

Artichoke, Jerusalem 184 

Ash tree 501 

Ashes 66 

Asparagus. 

Varieties and culture 186 

Forcing 186 

Beetle 644 

Asphodel 492 

Ass — rearing, breeding, training, age, char- 
acteristics 362 

Assorting liops 198 

Aster, China 487 

Asthma in fowls 414 

August. 

Kitchen-calendar for 218 

Fruit calendar 315 

Livestock calendar 3^5 

Floricultural calendar 509 

Auricula ■ 487 

Autumn stock of bees 440 

Autumnal flowers 470 

59* 



Aylesbury or English duck ; 407 

Ayrshire cattle 333 

Azalea 487,489 

B. 

Bacon, making 351 

Balm 210 

Balsamine 491 

Bankiva fowls 388 

Bantam fowls 301 

Barbary fowls 392 

Barberry, culture, Common Red, Stoneless, 266 

B.\RLET. 

Different kinds 76 

Kind of soil 77 

Preparing the land, sowing, culture, 

harvesting 78 

Threshing, dressing, uses 79 

Di.seases and enemies 79, 599 

Insects injurious to 639 

Barn. 

Plan of, light and air, preventing de- 
predations of vermin 627 

Washington barn 628 

Buel barn 629 

Barn Fowls. 

Bankiva, Dunghill 388 

Game, Dorking. Malay or Chittagong, 389 
Paduan or Jago, Crested, Hamburgh, 
Dutch, Every-day or Ever-laying. 

Poland 390 

Spanish, Bantam 391 

Dwarf or Creeper, Acaho, Rumkin, 
Frizzled, Silky, Russian or Siberian, 

Barbary. Java 392 

Ostrich or Cochin China 393 

Raising, breeding, number of hens for 

a cock, qualities of a good cock 394 

Selecting hens, sitting, liatching 395 

Fattening, caponizing, health 396 

Diseases 412 

Insects injurious to 636 

Basil 210 

Basswood tree 601 

Bastard Saffron. 

Description, soil and climate, culture, 175 
Uses 176 

Bean. 

Varieties and culture 186 

Twining sorts 187 

Beard's hive 431 

Beauty of the night 489 

BEK-i. 

Different classes, queen 416 

Drone, working 417 

Structure 418 

Position of the apiary, aspect 419 

Location 420 

Water, shrubs and trees, sun 421 

Houses 421 

Disea.ses and enemies 454 

Hives and Boxes, 

Requisites 422 

Nutt 422 

Collateral 423 

Straw 426 

Size 427 

Huber's leaf '. 428 

Simple and cheap 429 

Glass, Uuisb's 430 



T02 



INDEX. 



Beard's, Colton's, Cutting's, Weeks', 

Minor's 431 

Gilmore's liives. house, and boxes 432 

Obtuinivg Slncl: 

Spriiis sLnck. autumn stock 440 

To sucure good hives 441 

Sivarmhti;. 

Time, indications 441 

To prevent 442 

To secure one that has settled 443 

KfTects of swarming 443 

To avoid, in the case of collateral 

boxes 444 

Adaptedness of the different hives 445 

The Hrmey Harvest. 

Time and mode 44.5 

Funii;;ation 416 

Tapping ovdriving 447 

I'ir.st harvest, second harvest '. 448 

Kxamining and weighing 449 

Honey-comb 439 

Duration of hives, food for bees 450 

Management during Winter and Early 
Spring. 

Autumn .and winter care, feeding, nar- 
rowing the entrance, and covering .. 451 
Dampness and ventilation, materials 

for covering, spring care 452 

ffoio in Treat the Product cf the Honey 
Ha rivst. 

Removing the comb, obtaining and pre- 
paring the wax 463 

Beet. 

Varieties and culture 1S8 

To keep .. 1S9 

Beetles — (,41so see Insects) 76 

Bell cranberry 270 

Berk.shire swine 303 

Biennial flowers 368 

Bilberry 313 

Bird spider-fly 639 

Lird's-eye primrose 495 

Black leg disease in animals 368 

Black quarter in animals 36S 

Black water in animals 368 

Blackb::rry. 

Propagation 266 

Trailing, HiL'h, White. Double White 
Flowering, Double Pink Flowering, 267 

Black-faced or heath sheep 347 

Blast. 

Description, different kinds 599 

Blasting stones 3i 

BUGHT. 

Description, different kinds 599 

Blood joint felon diseaise, blood striking 

disease . 368 

Bloody flux in fowls 415 

Blueberry 310 

Boggy lands, draining 57 

Bog-spavin di.sea.se. 369 

Boiling food for animals 53S 

Bone-spavin disease 369 

Borage 186 

Borevole 189 

Borer insect — (See Insects) 659,670 

BOTT. 

Horse 636 

Fundament 637 

Ked, sheep 638 

Botts 368 

Botys 642 



Bowels, inflammation of, in animals 369 

Box plant 488, 501, 503 

Boxes for bees. — (See Bees.) 

Brain, inflammation of, in animals 369 

Breaking and dressing hemp 139 

Breedixq and liEAnixo. 

Neat cattle 317 

Sheep 339 

Swine 349 

Horses 356 

Barn fowls 394 

Ass 362 

5Iule. goat 363 

Dog 364 

Breeds of animals and fowls. — (See each 
kind under its head.) 

Brier, sweet 488 

Brittleness of hoof 370 

Broccoli 189 

Broken knees, broken wind 370 

Bronchitis in animals 370 

Broom-corn. 

Varieties, method of planting 133 

Culture, hiirvesting. scraping 134 

U.ses 135 

Brown-water disease 368 

Bruises in animals 375 

" " fowls 415 

Bucktborn 559 

BUCKWIIF.AT. 

Description, soils 93 

Culture 94 

Harvesting, uses 95 

Diseases 699 

Insects injurious to 639 

BuDinxG. 

Uses 572 

Performing the operation 573 

Transmitting scions, wax for budding, 

shield budding 574 

Shield budding without a bud or eye, 

circular shield budding 575 

Flute budding, annular budding, after- 
care 576 

Buffalo berry 559 

Bugs — (Also see In.^ect.s) 76 

Buildings, farm and rural 512 

Bulbs, culture 474 

Bull. 

Breeding and rearing 317 

Castrating 319 

Fattening .321 

Age 324 

Names at different ages 325 

Varieties — Native 325 

Devon 326 

Shortrhorned 331 

Ayrshire. New Leicester 334 

Holderne.ss Galloway, Sussex, Alder- 

ney. Suffolk, Kyloe 3.35 

Diseases 367 

Monthly Calendar of Operations 381 

Insects injurious to 636 

Burning and paring soils 32 

Bushes. — (See Shrubs and Trees.) 
Butter. 

General remarks, cream 225 

Clotted-cream 22T 

Whole-milk, churning 228 

Washing, salting 230 

Butterflies, destructive. — (See Insects.) 
Butternut ~ 310 



INDEX. 



103 



c. 

Cabbaqe. 

VarietifiS and culture 189 

To keep 190 

Diseases 599 

Buj; 645 

Butterfly 646 

Moth 647,648 

Fly 640 

Cacalia plant 490 

Cactus opuntia 559 

Cactus tuna 569 

Calendar of Monthly Operations. 

Kitchen-garden 216 

Fruit 313 

Live-stock 3S1 

Floricultural 507 

Calvks. 

Rearing'. 318 

Fattening 319 

Diseases 367 

(See Cattle.) 

Calycanthus plant 501 

Camomile 211 

Canadian horses 361 

Canker. 

In horses' feet 370 

Dogs' ears 370 

In vegetation— description, origin 600 

Remedy 603 

Canker-worm 669 

Canteleup melon 2s4 

Canterbui-y bell plant 488 

Caper tree 490 

Caponizing. 

Mode of performing the operation 396 

Caraway 210 

Cardoon 191 

Carnation plant 4SS 

Carolina syringa plant 501 

Carrot 191 

" moth 648 

Castins 41 

Cassia plant 488 

Castor-oil plant. 

Description 181 

Varieties, soil, culture, procuring the 

oil ; 182 

Castratino. 

Neat cattle 319 

Sheep 340 

Swine S.'iO 

Horses 357 

Fowls .396 

Catalpa plant 489 

Catarrh in animals 370 

Catarrhal fever in animals 371 

Caterpillars, destructive. — (See Insects.) 
Cattle. 

Horned or Neat. 

Breedin'4 and rearing 317 

Gestation, time of impregnation ;^18 

Castrating 319 

FatteuiDR 321 

Age 824 

Names of. at different ages 325 

Grazing 337 

Winter stall-feeding , 338 

The Bull. 
How to judge of 322 



Native 325 

Devon 328 

Ayrshire, New Leicester 334 

Holderness, Galloway, Sussex, Aldep- 

ney, .Suffolk, Kyloe 335 

The Cow. 

How to judge of 324 

Native 325 

Devon 328 

Hereford 332 

Ayrshire, New Leicester 334 

Holderness. Galloway, Sussex, Alder- 

ney, Suffolk, Kyloe '. 335 

Dairy qualities 335 

feedin'.r, keeping in good condition, 

milkinir 336 

Asccrtiiining the quality of milk 337 

Kcmnrks on Devon breed 329 

Difeavcs of caltle 3C7 

Monthly Calendar of Operations 381 

Sheds and houses 536 

Darns, how to construct, models, &c. .. 527 

Insects injurious to 636 

Cauliflower 191 

Celery 193 

Channels, water 63 

Cheap and simple hive 429 

Cheese. 

Presses 220,231 

Different modes of preparing rennet .. 231 

AVhole-milk, drying 235 

Store-room, green-whey 236 

Mode of making celebrated kinds — 

Cheshire 237 

Gloucester 241 

Stilton 243 

Dunlop 244 

Cream, new 247 

Parnie.san 248 

Potato, green or sage 249 

(See Dairy.) 

Chemistry, acquaintance with 23 

Chermi'S, apple and pear 664 

Cherry. 

Propagation, soil, situation 267 

Varieties — American Amber 269 

AiiseU's Fine Black 267 

Belle de Choi.sy 270 

Bisiarreau 268 

lilack Caroon 267 

Black Circa.s.«ian. Black Eagle 269 

Black Heart, Black Itus.sian 267 

Black Tartarean 269 

Davenport's Early Black 267 

Doctor 270 

Downer's Late 269 

Downton 270 

Early Amber 209 

Early Duke 268 

Earlv White Heart 269 

Elliott's Favorite 270 

Elton 269 

Florence. Holland Bigarreau ?70 

Holman's Duke 268 

Hyde's Seedling 270 

June Duke 268 

Kentish. Knight's Early Black, Man- 
ning's Mottled 270 

May i)uke 268 

Morello, Napoleon Bigarreau 270 

New Ucney 269 



T04 



New May Duke 267 | 

Ox-heart. Konald's Black Heart 2ti9 

Spanish Black Heart 267 

White Bifjarreau, White Tartarean, 

Yellow Spanish 268 

Wild Cherry 270 

Choke Cherry 270 

Monthly Calendar of Operations 313 

Grafting, budding, pruning, training.. 564 

Diseases 699 

Insects injurious to 650 

CherTil 2U 

Cheshire cheese 237 

Chestnut 310 

Cheviot sheep 347 

Chickens, fattening — (See Fowls) 396 

China swine 3.V2 

China aster plant 4s7 

Chinese goose 4ul 

Chinese monthly rose .. 496 

Chinese Sugar-cane. 

Description 110 

Soil and climate, culture Ill 

Uses as a fodder plant, curing the fod- 
der, and saviug the seed 112 

Making sugar 113 

Alcohol, vinegar 114 

Chittagong fowls 389 

Chive 192 

Choke cherry 270 

Choking of animals 371 

Chrysanthemum plant 489 

Churning .- 222,228 

Churxs. 

Thermometer 222 

Kendall's cylindrical 223 

Gaull's, Tillinghast's 224 

Churr-worm 645 

Cider. 

How to make 262 

IVrmentation of the juice 262 

Preparation of casks 263 

Fining and bottling 264 

Vinegar 264 

Cider Apples. 

Harrison, Camfield, Hugh's Virginia 

Crab, Ked Streak 261 

Classification of soils 24 

Clayey soils, subsoil 25 

" •■ draining 61 

Clearing lands 27,29 

Cleaving 42 

Cleft grafting 569 

Clematis, or virgin's bower 489 

Clethra plant 489 

Click beetle 640 

Close pruning 579 

Clotted cream 227 

Clover 84 

Varieties and culture 147 

Diseases 599 

Insects injurious to 673 

Cluster Pine 501, 503 

Clydesdale horses 362 

Cochin-China fowls 393 

Cock, varieties, &c — (See Fowls.) 

Cockehaffer. field 640 

Cockspur plant 559 

Cock's spur 81 

Cocoons 459 

Codling moth 656 



Cold-frame 481 

Colic in animals 371 

Colors, arrangement of, in flower-gardens. 473 

Colton's hive". 431 

Colts. 

Training and managing 357 

(See Horse.) 

Columbine plant 589 

CoLZ\. 

Description and use 177 

Soil, sowing the seed of winter colza, 

culture, gathering the crop 178 

Extracting the oil, spring colza 179 

Common black currant 274 

Common Box 501, 503 

Common goose 401 

Common Primrose 494 

Common red barberry 266 

Composition of Soils. 

Clayey, sandy, gravelly, peaty 24 

Loam 25 

Composts, forming 53 

Construction of the plough 36 

Consumption in fowls 414 

" in plants 604 

Contortion in plants 604 

Contracted foot in animals 371 

Convolvulus plant 689 

Copper-colored weevil 658 

Coriander , 211 

Corn. 

Varieties of. 85 

Preparation of land for planting, season 

for ploughing 86 

Planting, manuring 87 

Number of grains to the hill, depth of 

ploughing, tillage 88 

Thinning and suckering 90 

Harvesting 91 

Preserving 91 

Aarieties and culture for the table 192 

Diseases and enemies 92, 599 

Insects injurious to 639 

Corn-.salad 193 

Corns in fowls 414 

Costiveness in fowls 415 

Cottages and farm-dwellings 513 

Cotton plant. 

Description, varieties 116 

Soil, culture 117 

Manures, picking 119 

Whipping, ginning 120 

Packing, uses 121 

Diseases 633 

Insects injurious to 675 

Couiih in animals 371 

Coverings for flowers 466 

Cow. 

Breeding and rearing 317 

Gestation, time of impregnation 318 

Fattening 321 

Age, how to judge of 324 

Names at different ages 325 

Varieties — Native 325 

Devon 328 

Short-horned 331 

Hereford 332 

Ayrshire. New Leicester 334 

Holderness Galloway, Sussex, Alder- 

ney, Suffolk, Kyloe 335 

Dairy cfualities of 335 



INDEX. 



705 



Feedinp, keepinR in good condition, 

milking 336 

Ascertaining the quality of milk 337 

Diseases of cows 3ti9 

Monllily Calendai' of Operations 381 

Insects injurious to 636 

Ckab API'LES. 

Kcd Siberian 261 

Yellow Siberian 262 

Cranberry, culture 270 

" to keep 272 

Cranjero 659 

Cream. 

Butter 225 

Clotted 227 

Cheese 247 

Creeper fowls 392 

Cress 193 

Crib-biting 371 

Cricket, mole — (See Insects) 645 

Crocus plant 589 

Cbops. 

Heavy, or field 69 

Kotalionof 66 

(See each plant, under its bead; also 
Soils.) 

Cross-ploughing 42 

Cucumber. 

Varieties and culture 193 

Forcing, enemies 194 

Cud. loss of 371 

Cultivation, rendering soils fit for 26 

Culture of plant.s, &c. — (See eacli kind 
under its head.) 

Cupid's car, or monk's-hood plant 589 

Curb diseasse 371 

Curculio— (See Insects) 658 

Curing hams 351 

Curl disease 606 

CURB.ANT. 

Propagation 273 

Soil, situation 274 

Varieties — Black Naples. Champasne, 
Common Black, Knight's Early Red, 
May's Victoria, .Morgan's Hed, Mor- 
gan's White. Red Dutch. Red Grape, 
Keeve's White, Stri|ied-fruitpd, White 
Crystal, White Dutch, White Leg- 
horn 274 

Monthly Calendar of Operations 313 

Grafting, budding, pruning, training. 564 

Diseases 599 

Insects injurious to 650 

Cutting and harvesting — (See each plant., 
under its head.) 

Cutting's hive 431 

Cypress tree 501 

D. 

Dahlia 589 

Dairv. 
Implements. 

General remarks, different kinds of 

cheese-presses 221 

Thermometer churn 222 

Kendall's cylindrical churn 223 

Gault's churn. Tillinghast's cbu^n .... 224 

Cleanliness in dairying 224 

MiVc. 
Management „ 224 



Butter. 

General remarks, cream butter 225 

Clotted cream •. 227 

Whole-milk butter, churning 228 

Washing, salting 230 

C/ieese. 
General remarks, different modes of 

preparing and treating rennet 231 

Whole-milk, drying 235 

The store-room, green-whey 236 

Cheshire 237 

Gloucester 241 

Stilton 243 

Dunlop 244 

Skim-milk, cream, new 247 

I'armesan 248 

Potato, green or sage 249 

Dairy-house. 
General remarks, different apartments, 

site 522 

Temperature, arrangement 523 

Store-loft or upper rooms, model of a 

complete dairy 524 

Daisy 590 

Dandelion 194 

Dart moth 641,64-2 

December. 

Kitchen-calendar for 219 

Fruit calendar SI 6 

liive stock calendar 3S3 

Floricultural calendar '. 511 

Decorations for the garden 484 

Definitions of words, technical and peculiar, 693 

Devon animals — bull 326 

" ox 3-27 

" cow 328 

" working, fattening, and various 

qualities of 3'29 

Diabetes in animals 380 

Diarrhea in calves 368 

'• " fowls 414 

" " other animals 371 

" " bees 454 

Dibbling wheat 73 

Dill 211 

Directions for ploughing , 35 

Di.sbudding 583 

Diseases. 
0/ Avimals. 

Abscess. Apoplexy 369 

Black Leg. Black Quarter, Black Water, 

Blood Joint Felon, Blood Striking... 368 
Bog Spavin, Botts.Bowel Inflammation 309 
Briltleness of Hoof, Broken Knee.s, 

Broken Wind, Bronchitis. 370 

Brown Water 368 

Bruises 375 

Canker in Horses' Feet, Canker in 

Dogs' Fans, Capped Hock, Catarrh... 370 
Catarrhal Fever, Choking, Colic, Con- 
tracted Feet 371 

Costiveness 370 

Cough, Crib-biting, Cud, loss of. Curb, 371 

Diabetes 380 

Diarrhea 371 

Distemper, Distention of the Rumen 

or Grain Sick.. 372 

Dunt 380 

Dysentery or Scouring Rot, Kpilep.sy 
or Fit% Eye Inflammation, Eye 
Weakness, Farcy 373 

2cj 



t06 



INDEX. 



Feet Inflammation, Ferer, Fistulous 
Withers, Fldodint?, Fly, Foot Dis- 
ease. Foot Hot, Foul Foot 373 

Frenzy 3(i9 

Garget, Glander.s 37-t 

Gleet 378 

GoK.nles. or Giddy 380 

Grain Sick 372 

Grease, Griping, Grogginess, Heart In- 
fliinimation, Healing Dogs' Fars, 

Hide liound 374 

Hoof Brittleness 370 

HooTe, Hydrocephalus 375 

Inflammation of Bowels, ditto of Brain 3fi9 

" of Heart 374 

" of Ividneys 375 

" of Liver 376 

" of ll,ungs 378 

" of WoQib 381 

Inflammatory Evil 368 

Intiuenza 370 

Jaundice or Yellows, Joint Felon or 
Kheumatisni, Kicks and other 

Bruises. Kidney Inflammation 375 

Lameness of Shoulder, Lampas, Lice, 
Liver Inflammation, Locked Jaw.... 376 

Loss of Cud 371 

Lough 369 

Mallenders and Sallenders 376 

Jlange, Megrims, Miscarriage 377 

Nasal Gleet. Navel 111, Palsy, Tneu- 
monia or Inflammation of Lungs, 

Poisons 37S 

Poll Evil 379 

Pumiced Feet 373 

Quarter Evil, Quarter III, Red Water.. 368 
King Bone, Kheumatism, Roaring, 
Kot, Kound-boue Sprain, Saddle- 
galls 379 

Sallenders 376 

Scab. Scour 379 

Shoulder Lameness 37(5 

Sit-fast.s .379 

Sore Teats, Splint 3S0 

Sprain of Round-bone 379 

Spavin Bog, Spavin Bone 369 

Staggers or .Apoplexy 368 

Staling, Stifle Lameness, Strangles, 
Surfeit, Swelled Legs, Thick Wind, 

Thorough-pin 380 

Thrush 373 

Ticks 3S0 

Tread 373 

Turnsick 3S0 

tJkers. Warbles, Warts 3S1 

Water in the Head 375 

Withers Fistula 373 

Womli Inflammation,Worms, Wounds. 381 

Yellows 375 

Of Bees. 

Diarrhea. Dysentery 454 

Attacks by Vermin 465 

Of Finds. 

Apoplexy, Asthma 414 

Bloody Flux, Bruises 415 

Consumption, Corns 414 

Costiveuess 415 

Diarrhea, Fever 414 

Fractures 415 

Gout, Indigestion 414 

Loss of Feathers 415 



Molting, Pip 412 

Roup 413 

Ulcers 415 

Of Plants, Trees, etc. 
Bliixht or blast, — description, different 

kind.s 599 

Canker or caries, — description 600 

Origin 601 

Remedy 603 

Consumption 604 

Contortion 604 

Drop.sy 604 

Ergot 604 

Honey-dew 605 

Curl 60S 

JUildew. 

Use of the term, nature 607 

Growth and phenomena 608 

Provocatives, preventives, and correct- 
ives 610 

Potato-rot. 

Description 612 

Cau.ses 615 

Remedies 623 

Smut. 
Description, causes, and phenomena... 625 

Preventives 630 

Cotton Hot. 

Description, cause 633 

Cotton Rust. 

Description, cause 634 

Cotton Blujht. 

Description, cause 634 

Sore-Sliin. 

Description, cause 634 

(See also each plant, under its head.) 

Dishley sheep 345 

Distemper in animals 372 

Distention of rumen 372 

Duo. 

Rearing, breeding 364 

Newfoundland 867 

Shepherd's 375 

Drover's, Setter, Terrier, Pointer, dis- 
eases.. 367 

Domestic Fowls 388 

(See each kind, under its head.) 
Domestic or farm animals (see Animals). 

Dorking fowls 389 

Double white floweringBlackberry, double 

pink flonering do '. 267 

Double Feverfew plant 495 

Double flowering Almond 487 

Double flowering Cherry 489 

Double flowering Peach 494 

DB.4INING. 

Causes of wetness in lands 56 

Boggy lauds, and the true line of the 

spring 57 

Drains in peat lands. 59 

Hard soils, direction of drains 60 

Clay lands 61 

Varieties of drains 62 

Drainage of farmery 549 

Dressing barley 79 

Drone-bee 417 

Dropsy in animals 372 

'• plants....; 604 

Drover's dog 367 

Drying hops 197 

*' cheese ••••. 235 



INDEX. 



101 



DnoK. 

Rouen or Rhone, English or Aylesbury 

White. 407 

Muscovy 408 

The duck-pond, food 408 

Hatching and care of ducklings 410 

Fattening 411 

Pairing and laying, eggs, diseases 412 

Dunghill fowls 388 

Dunlop cheese 244 

Dunt in animals 380 

Durham or .short-horned cattle 330 

Dutch fowls 300 

Dwarf or creeper fowls 392 

Dwarf basil plant 490 

Dwellings and cottages, rural 512 

Dysentery in animals 372 

" bees 454 

E. 

Earths (see Soils). 

Earwig 671 

Egg-plant 195 

Eggs (.see Fowls). 

l-iiu-tree 501 

Emory's thorn 561 

Endive 195 

English or Aylesbury duck 407 

Enriching garden soils 466 

Epilepsy in animals 372 

Ergot 81, 604 

E.spalier-trees 590 

European Silver Fir 501, 504 

European horses, — Clydesdale, Suffolk, 

Norman ."562 

Evergreen Cypress 501, 605 

Etergreens. 

American Silver Fir 504 

" White Spruce 504 

Box 503 

Cluster Pine 503 

European Silver Fir 604 

Evergreen Cypress 505 

Henilook, Spruce Fir 506 

Larch I'ine 504 

Magnolia grandiflora 503 

Norway Spruce Fir 506 

Scotch Pine 504 

Everlasting pea 494 

Every-day or ever-laying fowls 390 

Excrement.s, various kinds of 50 

Extirpating shrubs 29 

Extraction of stumps and trees 31 

Eyes, inflamed and weak, in animals 372 

F. 

Fading beauty, or morning bride plant.... 490 

Fall A pples. 

Varieties, — Bars 256 

Belmont 258 

Bread and Cheese, Early Joe, Fair- 
banks 256 

Fall Pippin 255 

Fall Wine 256 

Fameu.se 258 

Gilpin 256 

Golden Ball X 258 

Golden Sweet 256 

Giavenstein „ 255 



Herefordshire Pearmain, Hurlbut 

Jersey Sweeting 

Jewett'.sKed 

Leland Pippin, Lowell, Lyman's Large 
Summer. 

Lyscom, Magnolia 

Mexico, Moses Wood, Pomme Royal... 

Porter 

Ranibo, Richardson, Komanite, Sassa- 
fras or Haskell Sweet, Seek-no-fur- 
ther, Summer Bellflower, Superb 
Sweet 

Thonipkins.. 

Winthrop, Yellow Bellflower 

Fallowiug, u.ses, different kinds 

" benefit of, rules for 

Fan training 

Farcy in aninial-s 

Farm or domestic animals (see Animals 

and Cattle) 

Fattenino Animals. 

Calves 

Cattle 

Devon cattle 

Barn fowls 

Turkeys 

Geese 

Ducks 

Feathers, loss of. 

February. 

Kitchen-garden calendar for 

Fruit calendar 

Live-stock calendar 

Floricultural calendar 

Feeding. 

Dairy cows 

Swine 

Turkeys 

Geese 

Ducks 

Bee.s 450, 

Feet, intlaramation of in animals 

" various diseases of. 

Felling 

Fences 

Fennel 

Fever in the horse 

" " fowls 

" catarrhal 

Fig 

Figure-of 8 moth 

Filbert 

Fir trees 

Fistulous withers 

Fit.s in animals 

Flax. 

Varieties, soils 

Culture, gathering, rippling 

W.atering, uses 

Diseases 

Fleas, destructive (see Insects) 
Flies, destructive (see Insects). 

Floofling in animals 

Flowers. Ornamental Trees, etc. 
I'lowers. 

General remarks, friability of soil. 

Enrichings. coverings, etc 

Plan of garden 

Planting 

Autumnal flowers 

Laying out Uie garden 



258 
256 
258 

256 
258 
256 
254 



256 

258 

256 

44 

45 
594 
372 

317 

321 
321 

330 
396 
400 
405 
4U 
415 

216 
314 
383 
507 

336 
350 
400 
402 
408 
451 
373 
373 
5S5 
553 
212 
373 
414 
371 
310 
653 
311 
601 
373 
iT2 

140 
141 
142 
599 



465 
466 
467 
460 
476 
470 



108 



INDEX. 



Various patterns 47 1 

Arrangement of colors -173 

Fragrant flowers -tT-t 

Cultivating bulbs 474 

Reserved garden spot 475 

Culture of annuals, hardy 47tJ 

Half-hardy, tender 477 

Perennials 478 

Biennials, the hotbed 479 

Green-house plants 480 

Cold frame 481 

Winter management 4K2 

Repotting 483 

Garden decorations —arbors 484 

Seats 485 

Vases, fountains, flower-stands, avia- 
ries, sun-dials 486 

Diseases of flower-plants 599 

Insects injurious to 671, 672 

Description of Standard Varieties. 

Acacia 496 

Almond (double flowering). Althea 
Frutex, Amaranth us Tricolor. Amer- 
ican Honeysuckle, Animated Oats ... 487 

Asphodel 492 

Aster (China). Auricula, Azalea Nudi- 

flora ■. 487 

Balsamine 491 

Beauty of the Night 489 

Box, Brier (Sweet) 488 

Cacalia 496 

I anterbury Bell 488 

Caper tree 490 

Carnation. Cassia Slarylandica 488 

Catalpa. Cherry (double flowering) .... 4S9 

China Aster 4S7 

Chinese Monthly Rose 496 

Chrysanthemum, Clematis or Virgin's 
Bower, Clethra, Columbine Con- 
volvulus. Corchorus Japonicus, Cro- 
cus, Cupid's Car or Monk's Hood, 

Dahlia 489 

Daisy 490 

Double Feverfew 495 

Double flowering Almond 487 

Double flowering Cherry 489 

Double flowering Poach 494 

Dwarf Basil. Kupatorium (Blue), Eu- 
phorbia Lathyris 490 

Everlasting Pea 494 

Fading Beauty or Morning Bride 490 

Fleur-de-lis 491 

Foxglove, Fringe tree, Geranium, Gar- 
den Angelica, Glycine .. 490 

Golden Chain +91 

Golden Coreopsis, Golden Everlasting . 490 

Hibiscus 496 

Hollyhock, Honeysuckle 490 

Hyacinth, Hydrangea, Ice Plant. Im- 
patiens Ealsamina, Iris or Fleur-de- 
lis 491 

Jonquils 492 

Laburnum, Lagentraenia Indica, Lark- 
spur. Laurel, Lilac 491 

Lily, Lily of the Valley, Lime Plant, 

Lychnadia 492 

Lobelia 492 

Lungwort 492 

Lychnis 496 

Magnolia 493 

Mezereon 493 



Mock Orange 498 

Musk Geranium, Myrtle, Narcissus, 

Nasturtium 493 

Oleander 494 

Passion Flower. Pasony, Pea, Peach 
(double flowering), Pink, Polyan- 
thus. Primroses 494 

Pyrenium Parthenium, Poppy, Purple 
Hyacinth Bean, lihynchospermum 

jasminoides, Rose . . 495 

Rose Acacia, Rose-colored Hibiscus, 
Rudbeckia, Scarlet Cacalia. Scarlet 
Lychnis, Snowberry, Spiderwort, 
Spirjca, Syringa or Mock Orange, 

Strawberry tree 496 

Sweet Bay 497 

Sweet Pea 494 

Sweet William, Tulip, Violet 497 

Tiger Lily, White Lily 492 

Yellow Hose 496 

Ornamental Shrubs. 

Soil, seasons, and modes 497 

After-management, situation, and ar- 
rangement 499 

Varieties — Azalea, Calycanthus, Car- 
olina Syringa, Double flowering 
Almond, Dwarf White flowering 
Horse-chestnut, Hawthorn, Honey- 
suckle. Japan Sophora, Juniper, 
Lilac, Mountain Laurel, Mountain 
Rose, Primrose, Rose Acacia. Ruse of 
Sharon. Scarlet flowering Chestnut, 
Snowball, Spice bush, Spirea, Straw- 
berry tree 501 

Ornamental and Useful Trees. 
Abele, Ailanthus. A.sh, Basswood. Box, 
Cypress, Elm, Fir, Hemlock, Horse- 
chestnut, Larch, Linden, Locust, 
Magnolia, Pine. Rock Maple. Spruce, 

Sugar Maple. Tulip tree. Willow 501 

Monthly Calendar of Operations 507 

Grafting, budding, pruning, training .. 564 

Diseases 599 

Insects injurious to 650, 671 

Flute budding 576 

Fly in sheep 373 

Folding 54 

Foot-rot 373 

Forcing plants — asparagus 186 

" cucumber 194 

« lettuce 199 

" radish 204 

" rhubarb 205 

" strawberry 305 

Fore-shortening 580 

Forests, clearing 28 

Forest fly 639 

Form of sheep, best 344 

Foul-foot 373 

Fowls. 
Barn. 

Eankiva. Dunghill 388 

Game, Dorking, Malay or Chittagong, 389 
Paduan or Jago. Crested, Hamburgh, 
Dutch, Every-day or Ever-laying, 

Poland 390 

Spanish, Bantam 391 

Dwarf or Creeper, Acaho, Rumkin, 
Frizzled, Silky, Russian or Siberian, 

Barbary, Java 392 

Ostrich or Cochiu-China S93 



INDE3L 



709 



Raising, breetliD";, number of hens for 

a cock, qualities of a good cock 394 

Selecting hens, sitting, hatching 395 

Fattening, caponizing, health 09(5 

Poultry-houses — general principles 

and requisites, situation, form 542 

Boosting-perches and nests 543 

Conveniences for hatching, appurte- 
nances, air and space, &c 544 

The Turkey. 

Varieties 39V 

Keeping, qualities 398 

Laying, sitting, hatching 399 

Treatment of the young, fattening, 

feeding 400 

The Goose. 

Toulouse y 400 

Chinese, Hong Kong, Poland, Com- 

mou 401 

General management, food 402 

Pairing, laying 403 

Hatching, goslings 404 

Fattening 405 

The Duck. 
Rouen or Rhone, English or Aylesbury 

White 407 

Muscovy 408 

Buck-pond, food 4(i8 

Pairing and laying, eggs 409 

Hatching and care of ducklings 410 

Fattening 411 

Diseases of fowls 412 

Foxglove 212, 490 

Fractures, bruises, and wounds, in animals, 381 
Fractures, bruises, and wounds, in fowls.. 41.') 

Fragrant flowers 474 

Fringe tree 490 

Frizzled fowls 392 

Fruit calendar, monthly 313 

Fecits, Frdit trees, Vinss, &c. 
The Apple. 

Propagation, soil and situation, mode 
of bearing, pruning and keeping .... 2-iO 

Varieties — Summersorts 251 

Fall sorts 254 

Winter and spring sorts 258 

Cider sorts, crab sorts 261 

Cider, bow to make 202 

Tlie Apricot. 
Propagation, soil and situation, varie- 
ties „ 264 

The Barberry. 

Culture, varieties 266 

The Blackberry. 

Propagation 266 

Varieties 267 

The Cherry. 
Propagation, soil and situation, varie- 
ties "^ 267 

The Cranberry. 

General culture, Ac, varieties 270 

To keep 272 

Tlie Currant. 

I'ropagation 273 

Soil and situation, varieties 274 

The Gooseberry. 
Propagation, soil and situation, varie- 
ties ^ 274 

The Grape. 
Propagation, soil and situation, cul- 
ture, pruning, training 276 

60 



Varieties 277 

The Medlar. 
Propagation, soil and situation, varie- 
ties 283 

The Melmi. 
Propagation, soil and situation, varie- 
ties 283 

The Mulberry. 

Propagation, soil and situation 284 

Varieties 285 

The Nectarine. 
Remarks on, varieties 285 

The Peach. 
Propagation, soil and situation, cul- 
ture, varieties 287 

The Pear. 

Propagation, soil and situation, cul- 
ture 291 

Varieties , 292 

Tlie Plum. 
Propagation, soil and situation, cul- 
ture, varieties 296 

The Quince. 

Propagation, &c 300 

Varieties 301 

The Paspberry. 

Propagation, &c 302 

Varietiefi 303 

The Strawberry. 

Propagation and culture 304 

Soil and .situation, forcing 305 

Varieties 306 

The Almond 309 

The Blueberry, the Butternut, the Chest- 
nut, the Fig 310 

The Filbert, the Lemon, the Lime, the 
Olive 311 

The Orange, the Pomeararate 312 

The Shellbark, the Walnut, the Whortle- 
berry 313 

Monthly Calendar of Operations 313 

Grafting, budding, pruning, and train- 
ing trees, vines, Sic 664 

Diseases of fruit trees 599 

Insects injurious to 650 

Fumigating hives 448 

Fundament bot 637 

Furrows, striking the, Ac 37 

G. 

Galloway cattle 347 

Gamma moth 646 

Game fowls 389 

Garden. — (See Kitchen-garden and Flow- 
ers.) 

Garget 374 

Garlic 195 

Gates 6.'i5 

Gathering, in ploughing 41 

" apples 250 

Gaulfs churn 224 

Geese 400 

Gelding. — (See Castrating.) 

Geranium plant 490 

Gestation of neat cattle 318 

" " horse 356 

" " sheep ^^9 

" " swine 349 

Giddy in animals 3S0 

Qifford horse - 361 



no 



INDEX. 



Qilmore's bee-house 432 

" hive 433 

Girdling 585 

Glanders 374 

GhisR hives 430 

Glonccstei- cheese 241 

Glycine plant. 490 

Goat, — description, etc 363 

'■ varieties 364 

Gogailes in animals 3S0 

Golden-chain plant 491 

Golden coreopsis do., golden everlasting do. 490 
Goose. 

Toulouse 400 

Chinese, Hong Kong, Poland, Common 401 

General management, food 402 

Pairing, laying... 403 

Hatching, goslings 404 

Fattening 405 

Diseases 412 

Gooseberry. 

I'ropagation, soil, situation 274 

"Varieties, — Capper's Top Sawyer 274 

Coleworth's White Lion, Crompton's 
Sheha Queen, Early Green Hairy, 
Early Sulphur, Early Whitfj. Far- 
row's Koaring Lion, Hill's Golden 
Gourd, Houghton's Seedliug.Keene's 

Seedling 275 

Melling's Crown Boh 274 

Nixon's Green Myrtle, Old Rough Red, 
Parkin.son's Laurel. Pitmaston Green 
Gage. Prophet's Rockwood, Red War- 
rington, Wellington Glory, White 
Honey, Woodward's Whitesmith, 

Yellow Ball 276 

Monthly Calendar of Operations 313 

Diseases 599 

Insects injurious to 650 

Goslings 404 

Go.ss horse 361 

Gout in fowls 414 

Grafting. 

Uses 564 

Different kinds, utensils and materials 665 

By detached scions 566 

Splice grafting 567 

Splice grafting the peach, nectarine, 
apricot, etc.; cleft grafting, rind 

grafting.... 569 

Cleft grafting the vine, saddle graft- 
ing, .side grafting... 570 

Wedge grafting, root grafting, herba- 
ceous grafting, grafting by approach, 

or inarching 571 

Grain. 

Culture, varieties, treatment of, etc... 69 

Diseases 599 

Insects injurious to 639 

(See Heavy or Field Crops, — also each 
kind under its head.) 

Grain-sick 372 

Granaries, site, etc 533 

Grape. 

Propagation, soil snd situation, cul- 
ture, pruning, training 276 

Varieties, — Alexander 278 

Black 279 

Black Hamburgh 277 

Black Prince, Black Sweetwater, Bland 279 
Catawba • 278 



CTinton, Cunningham, Diana, Early 

Black July, Elsiuburgh, Grizzly 27S 

Isabella 278 

Lenoir 279 

Miller's Burgundy 277 

Slissouri, Norton's Virginia, Ohio 279 

Ked and White Muscat of Alexandria 277 

Koyal Muscadine... 279 

Schuylkill Muscadel, Scuppernong 278 

Warren's Madeira, White Frontignan, 

White Sweetwater, Winnie 279 

Vinei/ards. 

Culture of 279 

Pressing the grapes 280 

Making wine 260 

'■ Champagne wine 281 

Constituents of Wine 282. 

Monthly Calendar of Operations 313 

Grafting, budding, pruning, training. 664 

Diseases 699 

Insects injurious to 650 

Grass. 

Meadow or Green. Spear or June 149 

Timothy, Cat's Tail or Herd's Grass, Or- 
chard or Cock'.s-foot, Meadow Fescue. 150 
Blue, Flat-stalked Meadow, Kay or 
Kye. Red-top, Fowl Meadow, Fine 

Bent 161 

Sweetrscented Vernal, Pony 152 

Annual Spear, Crab, Crested Dog's 
Tail, Crow-foot, Downy Oat, Fiorin, 
Floating Fescue Foxtail, Gama, 

Guinea 153 

Italian Rye, Meadow Foxtail, Narrow- 
leaved Meadow, Reed .Meadow, Rib- 
bon, Rice, Salt .Marsh. Sheep's Fes- 
cue, Smooth-stalked .Aleadow, Tall 

Fe.scue. Tall Meadow Oat 154 

Lands alternately in grass and tillage. 154 

Soiling, haying.. 1S6 

Lands permanently in grass.. 160 

Perennial grass-lands fit for mowing, 

meadow lands 161 

Permanent pastures 162 

Diseases 699 

Insects injurious to 073 

Grass-lands, operations on 48 

Grazing cattle 337 

Gravelly soils 24 

Grease-disea,sfi in animals 374 

Green-house plants 480 

Green-house. 
May be easily constructed,— materials 

and mode of building 650 

Arrangement of the lights 551 

Flues for heating 551 

Green or sage cheese 249 

Green whey 236 

Greening apples 200 

Griping in animals 374 

Grogginess in horses 374 

Ground-beetle 639 

Growing: grains, vegetables, fruits, etc. 
(see each kind under its head). 

Grubs and worms (also see Insects) 76 

Gypsy moth 652 

H. 

Half-hardy annual flowers 477 

Hamburgh fowls. « 390 



INDEX. 



Til 



Ham!!, — preparing. 351 

" Westphalia 352 

Hard Foils, Uraitiiug (lO 

Hardy annual flowers ... 476 

Harrowing, uses and modes 46 

Harvksting. 

Wheat 74 

Barley 78 

Corn 91 

Buckwheat 95 

Broom corn 134 

Batching chickens 395 

" turkey-cbickeus 399 

" goslings 404 

" ducklings 410 

Hawthorn 501 

Haying 15G 

Hay-Caps 159 

" Pressing of 159 

Heading-in 581 

Health of fowls 396 

Hemlock 501 

Heart, inflammation of in animals 374 

Hkavy or Field Crops. 
Wheat. 

Classification 69 

Bost varieties for cultivation 71 

Soils, time for sowing, seed, culture... 72 

Quantity of seed, after-culture 73 

Cutting and harvesting 74 

Diseases and enemies 75 

Barlei/. 

Classification 76 

Kind of soil 77 

Preparing the land, sowing, culture, 

harvesting 78 

Threshing and dressing, uses, diseases 
and enemies 79 

Varieties, soil 79 

Time for sowing, culture, product, uses 80 

Diseases and enemies SI 

The Oat. 

Varieties 82 

Soil, preparing the land, sowing, cul- 
ture. 83 

Reaping, diseases and enemies 84 

Indian Corn. 

Varieties 85 

Preparation of the land for planting, 

season for ploughing 86 

Planting, manuring 87 

Number of grains to the hill, depth 

of planting, tillage 88 

Thinning and suckering 90 

Harvesting 91 

Preserving, diseases and enemies 92 

Buckwheat. 

Description, soils 93 

Culture 94 

Harvesting, uses 9a 

The PMato. 
Propagating, varieties, soils, culture 

and tillage 96 

Dse.« 9S 

Diseases and enemies 99 

Sweet I^jtatn. 

Description, varieties, soil, cultufc^ 99 

Preservation, propagation 100 

Sugar-Beet. 
iSoil, culture, manufacture of sugar,etc. 101 



Sugar-Cane. 
Description, Tarietie.<!, soil, planting... 104 
Making .sugar, claying, etc 100 

Chinese Sugar-Cane. 

Description, soil, climate, culture 110 

Slaking sugar, etc 113 

African Sugar-Cane. 

Description 114 

A'arielie.s, soil, culture, uses 115 

Cotton. 
Description, varieties, soil, culture, 116, 117 
Picking, whipping, ginning, pack- 
ing 119-121 

Tobacco. 
Description, varieties, soil, culture, 

etc 122-124 

Cutting, curing, stripping, prising 125-127 

ificc. 
Description, varieties, culture, clean- 
ing, uses 127-129 

Tea. 
Description, varieties, soil, climate, 
culture, curing 130-132 

Broom Corn. 

Varieties, method of planting 133 

Culture, harvesting, scraping 134 

U.ses 135 

Millet. 

Varieties, soil 135 

Culture 136 

Hi':mp. 

Soils, culture 137 

(lathering 1.38 

Kotting. breaking, dressing 139 

Flax. 

Varieties, soils 140 

Culture, gathering, rippling 141 

Watering, uses..... 142 

Lucern. 

Description 144 

Soil, culture, tillage 145 

Uses 146 

Sainfoin. 

Description and habits 146 

Culture 147 

The Tare. 
Description, soil, preparing the soil, 
time of sowing, culture 148 

The Clovers. 

Varieties, culture 149 

Jlowing 150 

Getting the seed, threshing 161 

The Grasses. 

Varieties 151 

Lands .alternately in grass and tillage. 154 

Soiling, haying 156 

Lands permanently in grass 160 

Perennial gra.^s-lands fit for mowing, 

meadow lands 161 

Permanent pastures 162 

Stocking pastures 163 

Diseases 599 

Insects injurious to 639 

Hedges. 

General remarks 557 

Varieties of hedge plants bnl 

Buffalo Berry 559 

Buckthorn 559 

Cactus 659 

Cockspur 559 

CraDJero ^ 559 



112 



INDEX. 



Emory's Thorn 661 

Honey Locust 658 

Mesquit 561 

Osage Orange 558 

ZizyphuR lycoides 561 

Plantinf; tht> hedge 561 

First, second, third, and fourth years. 662 

Heplanting and mending 563 

Heifers (see Cattle). 

Hemlock tree 501, 504 

Hemp. 

Soils, culture 137 

Gathering 138 

Rotting, breaking, dressing 139 

Hens (see Fowls). 

Herbaceous grafting 571 

■' pruning 579 

" training 5S8 

Herbs 210 

(See Kitchen-garden, — also each kind 
under its head.) 

Hereford cow S32 

•' ox 332 

Hessian fly 642 

Hibiscus plant 496 

Hickory nut 313 

Hide-bound 374 

High blackberry 267 

Hives and boxes 421 

Hog (see Swine). 

Holderness cattle 335 

Hollyhock....^ 490 

Honey (see Bees). 

Honeydew 605 

Honey Locust 558 

Honeysuckle 490 

Hong Kong goose 401 

Hoof, brittleness of 370 

Hoose disease 370 

Hoove disease 376 

Hop. 

Culture 195 

Afterculture 196 

Taking the crop, drying 197 

Assorting 198 

Disea.ses 599 

Horehound 212 

Horned or neat cattle 317 

(See each kind, under its head.) 

HORSK. 

Rearing, breeding, weaning 356 

Castrating, training and managing 

colts 357 

Feeding, anatomy 358 

Varieties, — Arabian 359 

American, Mexican, Canadian, United 

States. Morgan, Gifford, Goss 361 

European, Norman, Clydesdale, Suf- 
folk 362 

Diseases 367 

Monthly Calendar of Operations 381 

Stables, site and construction 531 

SlalLs, rack.s, mangers.., ;.. 532 

Insects injurious to 636 

Horse-chestnut tree 501 

Horse-power 164 

Hor.«e-radish 198 

Horticultural Scientific (Jpeeations, 
Grafting. 

Uses 564 

Different kinds, utensils and materials, 665 



Grafting by detached scions 566 

Splice grafting 567 

Splice grafting the peach, nectarine, 
apricot, etc., cleft grafting, rind 

grafting 569 

Cleft grafting the vine, saddle grafting, 

side grafting 670 

Wedge grafting, root grafting, herba^ 
ceous grafting, grafting by approach, 

or inarching 571 

Budding. 

Uses 672 

Performing the operation 573 

Transmitting scions, wax for budding, 

shield budding 674 

Shield budding without a bud or eye, 

circular shield budding 575 

Flute budding, annular budding, after- 
care 576 

Pruning. 

Uses, forest trees, ornamental trees, or- 
namental shrubs 577 

Fruit trees and shrubs 578 

Herbaceous plants 579 

Close pruning 679 

Shortening-in, fore-shortening, spur- 
ring-in 580 

Heading-in 681 

Lopping, cutting down, stopping and 

pinching out. 582 

Ringing, disbudding 683 

Disleafing, slitting and .splitting, bruis- 
ing and tearing, root pruning 584 

Girdling and felling, seasons for pru- 
ning 585 

Traininy. 

Uses, principles 586 

Manual operations .~. 587 

Training herbaceous and shrubby 
plants in pots, training hardy flower- 
ing shrubs in the open ground, train- 
ing fruit trees 588 

Different modes of training bushes and 
trees in the open garden, and fruit 

trees against walls or espaliers 590 

Training dwarfs in the open garden, 

spiral cylinders 591 

8purring-in 592 

Conical standards 593 

Fan training 594 

Horizontal training 596 

Perpendicular training, comparative 
view of the diS'erent modes of train- 
ing 597 

Hot-beds 479 

Houses, liow to construct the various farm, 512 
How to judge of cattle, for various objects 

■ind purposes 322 

Iluber's leaf hive 428 

Huckleberry 313 

Hyacinth 491 

Hydrangea plant 491 

Hydrocephalus in animals 375 

Hyssop 213 



I. 

ICE-HODSES 

Necessity for 534 

Mode of construction '. 63-4 

Filling with ice ~ 634 



713 



Ice plant 491 

Iinphee 11-i 

Implements. — (See each kind under its 

heaa.) 

Implement-houses 533 

Improvement of breeds of sheep 344 

Inarching 571 

Increasint^ the productive powers of soils . '26 
Indian Corn. 

Culture, varieties, &c 85, 192 

Diseases 599 

Insects injurious to 639 

Indigestion in fowls 414 

Indigo. 

Description, varieties, soil 166 

Culture, extraction of the dye, uses... 167 

Inflammation of bowels in animals 369 

" " br.iin 369 

*' " eyes 374 

" " feet 371 

" " heart 374 

« " kidneys 375 

" " liver 376 

" " luncjs 378 

" " womb 381 

Inflammatory evil in animals 368 

Intluenza 370 

Insects, Noxious. 

Insects which live constantly on or in 
Domestic Animals, and propagate on 
them. 

Lice, horse hot 636 

Fundament hot, ox warble 637 

Ked bot. sheep bot 638 

Horse fly, forest fly. spider fly, sheep 

tick, bird spider fly 639 

Insects injurious tn Grain. 

Gibbous ground beetle 639 

German or field cockchaffer. lined click 

beetle, wire worm 640 

Winter or dart moth 641 

White-line d:irt moth, botys, corn moth, 

corn weevil Hessian fly 642 

Wheat midge ^. .. 643 

Insects injuriirus to Vegetables. 

Spring beetle or skip-jack, asparagus 

beetle, twelve-spotted leaf-beetle 644 

Earth-flea beetle, turnip fly. mole 
cricket, churr worm, jarr worm, eve 
churr, earth crab, painted field-bug, 

cabbage bug 645 

Plant lice, aphis, large cabbage white 
butterfly, small white butterfly, 
green-veined white butterfly, gamma 

moth 646 

Cabbage moth 647 

White-line brown-eyed moth, cabbage- 
garden pebble moth, carrot moth ... 648 
Roesel's tiny caterpillar, onion fly, cab- 
bage fly, lettuce fly 649 

Negro fly 650 

Insects injurious to Fruit, Fruit trees, 
Shrubs and Vines. 

Black-veined wlilte butterfly, or haw- 
thorn pontia 650 

Yellow-tailed moth 651 

Lackey moth, gypsy moth 652 

Goat moth, wood-leopard moth, flgure- 

of-S moth ."^ 653 

Lunar-spotted pinion moth, winter 
moth 654 

60* 



Pale-brindle beauty moth 656 

Lime-looper or mottled umbre moth, 

small ermine moth, codling moth ... 666 
]!ed grub of the plum, red bud cater- 
pillar, plum tree tortrix 657 

Copper-colored weevil, curculio, bao- 

chus or purple apple weevil 668 

Stem-boring weevil, borer, apple weevil, 659 

I'ear weevil, oblong weevil 660 

Ked-footed beetle, garden beetle, apple- 
bark beetle, small bark beetle 661 

Common elm-destroying scbolytus, 

plum saw-fly 662 

Pear saw-fly, peach or poplar saw-fly,.. 663 

Pear cbermes, apple chermes 664 

Plant louse, or aphis 665 

Small and large pear midges 666 

Black gall midge, paradoxical pearpla- 

tygaster, curculio 667 

Vine beetle, vine scale insect, vine saw- 
fly 668 

Canker worm 669 

Apple-tree borer 670 

l7isects injurious to Flower plants. 

Karwig, orange scale insect, mealy bug, 

oleander scale insect 671 

Kose scale, cactus scale, sweet-bay 
scale, rose moth, plant mite or red 

spider 672 

Insects injurious to Meadows. 
General remarks, unspotted lady-bird, 

migratory locust 673 

Rye-grass moth 674 

Antler or grass moth 675 

Insects injurious to the Cotton plant. 

' otton worm, description of 675 

Kemedies 676 

The red bug, or cotton stainer, descrip- 
tion of 676 

Heniedies 677 

The boll worm, de.snription of 677 

Remedies 678 

The cotton louse, description of 679 

Animals injurious to Cultivated Fields. 

The pocket gopher, or pouched rat 679 

Description, location, and habits 679 

Devastation on cultivated lands 680 

Remedies 680 

Silvery mole 681 

Habits 681 

Remedies. , 682 

Iris plant 491 

Irrigating 62 

'• channels 63 

" kind of soils for the purpose, 
waters best adapted, meadow- 
watering 64 

" preparing the surface 65 

'• time to operate 66 

Isabella grape 278 

J. 

,Tago fowls 390 

January, 

Kitchen-calendar for 216 

Fruit caleniia' 3'3 

Livestock calendar 3K3 

Floricultural calendar 507 

Japonicus plant 489 

1 Jarr worm •• 646 



1U 



INDEX. 



Jaundice in animals 375 

Java fowls 392 

Jerusalem artichoke 184 

Joint-felon in animals 375 

Jonquil plant 493 

July. 

Kitchen-garden calendar for 218 

Fruit calendar 315 

Live-stock calendar 385 

Kloricultural calendar 509 

June. 

Kitchen-garden calendar for 217 

Fruit calendar 314 

Live-stock calendar 385 

Floricultural calendar 508 

Juniper tree 501 



Keeping apples 250 

" cranberries 272 

Kendall's cylindrical churn 223 

Kicks and other bruises 375 

Kidneys, inflammation of in animals 375 

KlTCHEX-a,VRDEN. 

Vegetables. 

Culture of, &c. — Asparagus 185 

Borage, Bean 186 

Beet 188 

Borecole, Broccoli, Cabbage 189 

Cardoon. Carrot 191 

Celery, Chive, Corn 192 

Corn-salad, Cress, Cucumber 193 

Dandelion 194 

Kgg plant, Endive, Garlic, Hop 195 

Horse-raifish, Leek 198 

Lettuce, Morel 199 

Mushroom, Mustard 200 

Onion 201 

Okra, Parsnip, Pea 202 

Pepper 203 

Pumpkin, Badish, Rhubarb 204 

Rape, Salsify 205 

Scorzonera, Sea-kale, Shallot, Skirret, 

Spinach 206 

Squa-sh, Tomato, Turnip 207 

Monthly Calendar of Operations 216 

Diseases 599 

Insects injurious to 644 

Serbs. 
Culture of, &c. — Anise, Balm, Basil, 

Caraway 210 

Coriander, Camomile, Chervil, Dill 211 

Fennel, Foxglove, Horehound, Hyssop, 

Lavender 212 

Liquorice, Marjoram, Mint 213 

Parsley, Penny-royal, Peppermint, 

Pur.slane, Rosemary 214 

Rue, Siiffron, Sage 215 

Savory, Tansy. Thyme 216 

Monthly Calendar of Operations 216 

Kyloe cattle 335 



L. 

Laburnum plant 491 

Lackey moth 652 

Lactometer, use of 339 

Lambs. — (See Sheep. 

Lameness of shoulders in animals 376 

Lampas in horses 376 



Land. 

Clearing waste 29 

Alternately in grass and tillage 154 

Permanentlj" in grass 160 

Meadow 161 

(See Soils.) 

Larch Pine 501,504 

Larkspur plant 491 

Larva. — (See Insects.) 

Laurel plant 491 

Lavender plant 212 

Laying — hens 394 

" turkeys 399 

" geese 403 

" ducks 409 

Leaf hive 418 

Leek 198 

Lemon 311 

Lettuce, varieties and culture 199 

" fly 643 

Levelling uneven .surfaces 32 

Lice in cattle — (also see Insects) 376 

Lilac bush 491, 501 

Lily 492 

Lime, manuring with 55 

Lime tree 311 

Lime plant 492 

Lime looper or moth 656 

Linden tree 501 

Liquorice plant.. 213 

Litter 62 

Live stock (see Animals). 

Liver, inflammation of in animals 376 

Loam soils 25 

Lobelia 492 

Locked-jaw in animals 376 

Locust 673 

Locust tree 501 

Long-wooled sheep 345 

Lopping 582 

Loss of cud 371 

" feiithers 415 

Lucern, — description 142 

" k)il, culture, tillage 143 

" uses 144 

Lunar-.spotted pinion moth 653 

Lungs, inflammation of in animals 378 

Lungwort 492 

Lychnadia plant 492 

Lychnis plant 496 

M. 

Madder. 

Pescription, soil, culture 168 

Ploughing out, cleansing, and drying 

the roots 169 

Grinding the roots, propagation and 

preservation of sets, uses 170 

Maggots (see In.sects). 

Magnolia 493 

Magnolia grandiflora 501,503 

^lalay or Chittagong fowls 389 

Mallenders in horses 376 

Mange 377 

Mangers 532 

MANCniXG. 

Action of manures, natural manures.. 49 

Urine, various kinds of excrement 50 

Night-soil, management of manures... 51 

Forming composts, litter 62 



INDEX. 



715 



Applying liquid inanures,folding, deed 

bodies, bones, etr... 54 

Vegetnble manures, mineral manures 

— lime, marl, gypsum, ashes .. 65 

Manuring plants, tree.s, etc. (see each 
icind under its bead). 

Maple trues (Hock and Sugar) 501 

Makcii. 

Kitchen-garden calendar for 217 

Fruit calendar 314 

Live-stock calendar 384 

Floricultural calendar 507 

Marjoram 213 

Marl 55 

Mat. 

Kitchen-garden calendar for 217 

Fruit oalencJar.... 314 

Live-stock calendar 384 

Floricultural calendar. 508 

May-bug 76 

Meadows, operations on 48 

" watering C4 

" gra.ss 1*51 

" insects injurious to 673 

Mealy-bug 671 

Medlar. 

Propagation, soil and situation, varie- 
ties, — Blake's Large, German or 

Dutch, Nottingham. Stoneless 283 

Monthly Calendar of Operations 313 

Gralting, budding, pruning, training. 5(i4 

Diseases 599 

Insects injurious to 650 

Megrims in horses 377 

MiiLO.V. 

Propag.ation, soil and .situation 2S3 

Variities. — (VVater-Melons). Imperial, 
Carolina, New Jersey, Spanish, Ci- 
tron ..." 283 

(Muek-Melons), Keising, Green Iloosai- 
nee, l..arge Germek, h^arly Cantuleup, 
Nutmeg, Green Citron, Palermo, 
Orange Canteleup, Black Rock, 

Sweet Lspahan 2S4 

Monthly Calendar of Operations 313 

Grafting, budding, pruning, training.. 6U4 

Diseases 69'J 

Insects injurious to 650 

Merino sheep 348 

Mesquit 661 

Mezereon plant 493 

Midges destructive (see Insects). 

Mignonette 493 

MiLDKW. 

Uses of the term, nature 607 

Growth and phenomena 608 

Provocatives, preventives, correctives. 610 
Mile. 

Management 224 

Wliole-milk cheese 236 

Skim-milk cheese 247 

Whole-milk butter 228 

Milking 336 

A.scertaining the quality of. 337 

(See Dairy and Cattle.) 

Millet, — Varieties, soil 135 

" sowing, culture 136 

Mineral manure.s ^ 56 

Winer's bee-hive 331 

Mint 213 

Miscarriage in animals 377 



Mock-orange plant 496 

Mode of performing the operation of 

caponizing 396 

Models of Kural Buildings. 

Farm-house 513 

One-story house 513 

Medium-sized liouse 514 

Large farm-house 518 

Tudor cottage 519 

Double cottage 520 

Dairy 523 

Complete dairy 514 

Mole cricket 545 

Molting of fowl.s, season of, etc 394, 412 

Mo.NTHLT Calendar op Operations. 

Kitchen-garden 217 

Fruit 313 

Live-stock 3Sl 

Floricultural 507 

Moor-ill in animals 368 

Morel 199 

Morgan-horse 361 

Morus multicaulis 457 

Moths, destructive (see Insects). 
Motive Powkrs for Farm Purposes. 

Wind-mill 163 

Ilorse-power 164 

Portable grist-mill 104 

Mottled umbre-moth 056 

Mountain sheep 342 

Mountain laurel-tree, mountain rose 501 

Mowing 166,101 

Muldi;rkt. 

Propagation, .soil and situation... 284, 457 
Varieties, — Ked, Black, Johnson, 

White 285 

Monthly Calendar of Operations 313 

Gratling, buddiui;, pruning, training. 564 

Diseases ". 599 

Insects injurious to 650 

Mule, — rearing, breeding, etc 363 

Mushroom 200 

Musk-geranium „, 493 

Musk-melon 284 

Mustard, — \arieties and culture 200 

.Myrtle plant 493 

N. 

Names of cattle at different ages 324 

Narcissus plant 493 

Nasal gleet in horses 378 

Nasturtium 493 

Native cattle 325 

Nature and treatment of soils 23 

Navel-ill in animals 378 

Neat Cattle. 

Rearing, treatment, varieties, etc 317 

Insects injurious to 030 

Nectarine. 

Remarks on 2S5 

Varieties. — Boston 285 

Bromfield, Downton, Due de Tellier, 

Early Violet 287 

Elruge 286 

Hunt's Tawney.. 287 

Jaune Lisse 286 

Lewis's 2S5 

Mu.sk Violet, New White 287 

Perkins's Seedling 285 

Pitmastou'g Orange 287 



116 



INDEX. 



Red Roman 285 

Koussaune 286 

Monthly Calendar of Operations 313 

Gniftiug, budding, pruning, training.. 564 

Diseases 599 

Inseets injurious to 650 

New clieese 247 

Newfoundland dog 365 

New Leicester cattle 334 

Kight-soil 51 

Norman horse 361 

Norway Spruce i'ir 501,506 

November. 

Kitchen-garden calendar for 219 

Fruit calendar ... 315 

Live-stock calendar 3S1 

Floricultural calendar 511 

Noxious insects (see Insects) 636 

Nuts. 

Culture, etc.— Butternut, Chestnut.... 310 

Filbert 311 

Shi-Ubark, Walnut 313 

Nut-hive and bee-boxes 4'J'2 

0. 

Oat. 

Varieties 82 

Soil, preparing the land, sowing, cul- 
ture 83 

Reaping 84 

Disea.«es and enemies 84, 599 

Insects injurious to 639 

October. 

Kitchen-garden calendar for 218 

Fruit calendar 315 

Live-stock calendar 385 

Floricultural calendar 510 

Okra 202 

Oleander 494 

Olive 311 

Onion. 

Varieties and culture 201 

Diseases 699 

Fly 649 

Orange 312 

0KN.4MENTAL AND USEFUL TREES AND SHRUBS. 

Culture, soil, .seasons and modes 497 

After-management, situation and ar- 
rangement 499 

Varieties 601 

Monthly Calendar of Operations 507 

Grafting, budding, pruning, training.. 564 

Diseases .. 599 

Insects injurious to 650 

Osage orange 558 

Osiers. 

Varieties 507 

Mode of cultivation 507 

Ostrich fowls 393 

Ox. 

Breeding and rearing 317 

Fattening 321 

Age 324 

Names at different ages 225 

How to judge of. etc 322 

Explanatory skeleton of. 323 

Native 325 

Devon 327 

Short/horned 330 

Hereford 332 



Ayrshire 333 

New Keicester 334 

Holderness. Galloway, Sussex, Alder- 

ney, Suffolk, Kyloe 335 

Diseases 367 

Monthly Calendar of Operations 381 

Insects injurious to 636 

P. 

Paduan or Jago fowl.o 390 

Pairing of geese 403 

ducks 409 

Pale-brindle beauty-motb 655 

Palsy in animals 380 

Paring and burning land 32 

Parmesan cheese 248 

Parsley 214 

Parsnip, — Varieties and culture 202 

Passion-flower 494 

Pastures. 

Peinianent 162 

Stocking 162 

Pea. 

Viirieties 202 

Culture, enemies 203 

Kverlasting 494 

Peach. 

Propagation, soil and situation, cul- 
ture 287 

Varieties, — Alberge 288 

Belle (le Vitry 290 

Bergen's Yellow 289 

Catharine, Chancellor 290 

Coolidge's Favorite 28T 

Crawford's Late 289 

Early Tillotson 290 

Karly York. George the Fourth 287 

Golden Ball 290 

Gross .Mignonne 287 

Ilyslop's Cling, Incomparable, Late 
Admirable, l>ate Heath, Late Pur- 
ple, Lemon i'reestone, Malta, Mon- 
strous Cling 290 

Morrl.s, Noblesse 289 

Nutmeg, Old Newington 290 

Oldmixon Freestone 289 

President 290 

Ked Cheek Melocoton 287 

Red Magdalen, Ked Rareripe 289 

Ward's Late Free 290 

White 289 

White Imperial 290 

Yellow Rareripe 289 

Monthly Calendar of Operations 313 

Grafting, budding, pruning, training.. 564 

Diseases 599 

Insects injurious to 650 

Peach plant (double flowering) 494 

Pear. 

Propagation, soil and situation, cul- 
ture 291 

Varieties — Bartlett 292 

Belle et Bonne, Belle Lucrative 296 

Beurre Bosc 294 

Beurre de Amaulis, Beurre Diel, Bleek- 

er's Meadow 296 

Bloodgood 295 

Colmar. Columbia, Gushing 296 

Dearborn's Seedling 292 

Kaster Beurre 290 



INDEX. 



717 



Flemish Beauty 

Frederick of Wurtemburg, Fulton, 
Ulout Morceau 

Ooldeu Beurre of Bilboa 

Honey. Jari^uelle 

Madeleine 

Marie Louise 

Muscadine 

Passe Colmar, Pound, Rousselet de 
Kheims 

Seckel 

St. Germaine. St. Michael, Stevens's 
Genesee, Summer Melting ... 

Summer Frank Keal 

Swan's Egg 

Tyson 

Vergouleu.'ie 

Winter Nelis 

Monthly Calendar of Operations 

Grafting, budding, pruning, training, 

Diseases 

Insects injurious to 

Peaty soils 

braining 

Penny-royal 

Peony 

Pepper 

Peppermint 

Peienniiil flowers 

Pickling pork 

Pig. — (See Swine.) 

Pine trees 

Pink. 



501 

, 494 

Pip in fowls 412 

Plans of flower-gardens 467 

" " farm buildings 512 

Plants yielding Uves, Oils, &c. 
Indigo. 

Description, Tarieties, soil Ififi 

Culture, extraction of the dye 167 

iladdcr. 

Description, soil, culture, Ac 168 

Cleaning, curing, and grinding the 
roots, Ac 169,170 

wad. 

Description, soil, culture, &c 170-172 

Woad. 

Description, soil, culture, &c 172, 173 

Turmeric. 

Description, soil, uses 173, 174 

Sumach. 

Varieties, soil, climate, cultivation, Ac. 175 
Bastard Saffron. 

Description, soil, climate, culture, 

uses 175,176 

Teasel. 

Description, soil, culture, uses, Ac. 176,177 
Colza. 

Description, soil, culture, &c 177-179 

Rape. 

Deiscription, soil, culture, Ac 179, 180 

Sunflower. 

Desicription, soil, culture, uses 180, 181 

Castor-oil plant. 
Description, varieties, soil, culture, 

&c 181,182 

Plants and Planting. — (See each plant 

under its head.) 
Plouohino. 

Jtemarks on 34 

Kules for 35 



How to hold the plough, construction 

of the plough 

RiJges 

General operation 

Gathering, casting 

Cleaving, cross-ploughing 

Subsoil 

Fallow 

Varieties of ploughs — lock coulter, 

wheel, ajid draft-rod 

Subsoil 

Paring 

Field 

Plum. 

Propagation, soil and situation, cul- 
ture. &c 

Varieties — Bleecker's Gage 

Black Dawson, Blue Dwarf Gage 

Cloth of Gold, Coe's Golden Drop 

Dawson 

Drap d'Or 

Duane's Purple 

Elfrey, Early Hoyal 

Favorite 

Flushing Gage. Frost Gage 

Green Gage 

Huling's Superb. Imperial Ottoman.. 

Jefferson 

Iiombard 

Ijong Scarlet 

M'Laughlin 

Morocco 

Priiice'.-i Imperial Gage 

Purple Favorite, Ked Gage 

Koyal Ilative 

Scarlet Gage 

Smith's Orleans 

■Wiisbiiigton 

Monthly Calendar of Operations 

Grafting, budding, pruning, training. 

Diseases 

Insects injurious to 

Pneumonia, or inflammation of lungs in 

animals 

Pointer dog 

Poisons, how to treat 

Poland goose 

Poll-evil in animals 

Polyanthus plant .. 493 

Pomegranate 

Poppy 

Pork, pickling 

Porous sub.soil 

Portable grist-mill 

Position of the apiary 

I'OTATO. 

Propagating, varieties, soils, culture, 
tillage 

Uses 

Diseases and enemies 

Planter and Seed-drill 

Sweet 

The. h'ot. 

Description 

Causes 

Hemedies 

Poultry, or the various domestic fowls 

Presses, cheese 

" hay • 

Pricked or wounded feet in animals 

Primrose 



296 
298 
300 
298 
300 
298 
299 
300 
298 
300 
296 
300 
296 
300 
298 
300 
298 
300 
298 
300 
298 
300 
296 
313 
564 
599 
650 

378 
367 
378 
401 
379 
494 
312 
495 
351 
26 
164 
419 



612 
615 
623 
613 
220 
159 
373 
494 



ns 



INDEX. 



Procreating age of cattle 

" " " sheep 

" " '• swine 

" " " horse 

" " '• ass 

" " " dog 

" " " goat 

Propagating. — (See Animals, Vegetables, 

Fruits, &c.) 
Prumno. 

Uses, forest trees, ornamental trees, or- 
namental shrubs 

Fruit trees and shrubs 

Herbaceou.s plants 

Clcse pruning 

Shortening-iu, fore-shortening, spur- 
ring-in 

Heiiding-in 

Lopping, cutting down, stopping and 

pinching out 

Ringin'^. disbudding 

Disleafiug, slitting and splitting:, bruis- 
ing and tearing, root pruning 

Girdling and felling, seasons for pru- 
ning 

Puccinia graminis 

Pumiced feet in animals 

Pumpkin, varieties and culture 

Purple apple weevil 

" Hyacinth bean 

Purslane 

Pyrenium Parthenium 



Q. 

Qualities of dairy cows 335 

Quarter-evil or quarter-ill in animals 368 

Queen-bee * 410 

Quince. 

Propagation, &c 300 

Varieties — Apple-shaped, Orange Pear- 
shaped 301 

Portugal 302 

Monthly Calendar of Operations 313 

Grafting, budding, pruning, training, 564 

Diseases 599 

Insects injurious to 650 

K. 

Racks 532 

Radish, varieties, culture, forcing 204 

Rape. 

Description, .soil, culture 179 

Gathering the crop, uses 180 

Rape (edible-rooted) 205 

Raspbkrry. 

Propa>r,ition. &c 302 

Varieties — American Black, Gushing, 

Double-bearing Yellow 304 

Fastolff 303 

Franconia, Ilowland's Red. New Red, 
Ohio, Red Antwerp, True Red,AVhite 
Antwerp, Yellow Antwerp 304 

Reaping grain. — (See each kind of grain.) 

Rearing Live-stock. 

Neat cattle 317 

Sheep 339 

Swine 349 

Horse 356 

Ass 362 



Mule, Goat 363 

Dog 364 

Fowls 394 

Red hot 637 

" grub of the plum, red bud caterpillar, 657 

Red-footed beetle 661 

Red spider 672 

Relation between soil and subsoil 25 

Removing stones 34 

Rennet, different modes of preparing and 

treating 231 

Repotting flowers 483 

Rheumatism in animals 375,379 

Rhubarb. 

Varieties and culture 204 

Forcing 205 

Rhynchospermum jasminoides 495 

Rice. 

Varieties and description 127 

Mode of cultivation in South Carolina, 128 
Chinese mode of cultivation, cleaning, 

u.«e 129 

Ridge ploughing 39 

Rind grafting 569 

Ring-bone in horses 379 

Rippling flax 141 

Roaring in animals 379 

Rock-maple tree 501 

Rolhng 47 

Root grafting 571 

" pruning .• 584 

Rosebush 495 

" acacia, of Sharon .501 

" training 588 

Rosemary 214 

Rot. 

In animals 372,379 

Potato rot. 

Description 612 

Causes 615 

Remedies 623 

Rotation of crops , 66 

Rotting hemp 139 

Rouen or Rhone duck 407 

Kound-bone, sprained, in animals 379 

Roup in fowls 413 

Hudbeckia plant 496 

Rue 215 

Rumkin fowls 392 

Rural Architecture. 
Farm-dxveUiiigs and Cottages. 

General principles to be observed, plans 

for buildings 512 

Model of a moderate-sized farm-house, 

model of a one-story hou.se 513 

Model of a medium-sized house 514 

Model of a large farm-house 518 

Tudor style of cottage 519 

Model of double cottage structure 520 

Modifications of plans 521 

Dairies. 
General remarks, different apartments 

of the dairy-house, site 522 

To secure a proper temperature, ar- 
rangement of the apartments 523 

Store-lofi or upper rooms, model of a 

complete dairy 524 

Barns. 

Plan of apartments, light and air, to 

prevent depredations of vermin 527 

Model of the Washington barn 628 



INDEX. 



119 



Bnel's bam 529 

Stables. 

Site, light, and air 531 

Stalls, racks, and mangers 532 

Oirt-she.ds and Implenunt-houses. 

Site, Ac 533 

Granaries. 

Site, Ac 533 

lce-hnu$es. 
Necessity for, mode of construction, 

filling with ice 534 

Slieep-fnlds. 
General remarks, arrangement of folds, 

feed-racks, and troughs 535 

OatUe-slietls. 

Uses and requisites, arr>ingemeot 536 

Calf-hou.ses. apartment for boiling food, 

apparatus necessary, mode 538 

Piggeries, 

Site, plan of construction 540 

Separate sties 541 

Poultry-liouses. 

General principles and requisites, 

situation, form 542 

Roosting-perclies and nests, to render 

the poultry-h( use healthy 543 

Conveniences for hatching, appurte- 
nances, air and space, accommoda- 
tions for keeping poultry on a large 

scale 544 

Plan of construction and general ma- 
nagement 545 

Arrangenunt of Vie Farmery. 

Situation 546 

Kind of buildings, disposition of the 

different buildings 547 

Plan of buildings for a large farm 548 

Plan of buildings for a small farm 549 

Stack-yard, drainage of farmery 649 

Green-lMuses. 
May be easily constructed, materials 

and mode of building 550 

Arrangement of the lights 551 

Flues for heating 552 

Fences and Gates. 
Different kinds, building ^tone-Trails.. 553 
Materials, implements, rules to be ob- 
served 554 

Advantages of stone-wall 556 

Form and method of constructing 

gates 555 

Hanging, hinges, latch, gate-posts 556 

Arbors 484 

Garden-.seats 485 

Bee-houses, hives and boxes 421, 422 

Ru».sian or Siberian fowls 31)2 

Uuflt (also see Diseases of Plants) ?6 

Rutabaga 208 

RVE. 

Varieties, soil 79 

Time for sowing, culture, product, and 

uses 80 

Diseases and enemies 81, 599 

Insects injurious to 630 

s. 

Saddle-galls in horses „.._.. 370 

Saddle grafting a... 570 

Saffron 215 

" bastard 175 



Sage 215 

Sat;e cheese 249 

Sainpoi.v. 

Ue.vcription and habits 144 

Culture 145 

Diseases 599 

Salix viminalis 507 

" Forbiana 507 

" rubra 607 

Sallenders in horses 376 

Salsify 205 

Sailing butter 230 

Sandy soils 24 

Savory 216 

Saw-fly 662, 668 

Scab in sheep 379 

Scale insect (see Insects). 

Scarlet raralia plant, scarlet lychnis plant 496 

Scholytus 662 

Scions for grafting 566 

" transmitting 574 

Scorzonera 206 

Scotch Pine 50I, 504 

Scour in lambs 379 

Scouring-rot 372 

Scraping broom-corn 134 

Sea-kale 206 

Securing good hives 440 

Seed (see each kind under its head). 

Selecting hens 397 

Septembkb. 

Kitchen-garden calendar for 218 

Fruit calendar 315 

Live-stock calendar 385 

Floricultural calendar 609 

Setter dog 357 

Shagbark 313 

Shallot... 206 

Shearing 340 

Sheds, — cart 533 

'• cattle _.... 636 

Sheep. 

Rearing 339 

Castrating, weaning, shearing 340 

For market, food, mountain sheep, 

smearing, .signs of good health 342 

Improvement of breed.s, form 343 

Age, wool and its characteristics 344 

Tartar... 345 

Long-wooled 345 

Sliort-wooled 346 

Cheviot, South-Down, Black-faced or 

Heath 347 

Merino 348 

Diseases 367 

Monthly Calendar of Operations 381 

Folds. 

General Remarks 535 

Arrangement of fold.s 535 

Feed-racks and troughs 535 

Insects injurious to 638 

Shellbark. 313 

Shepherd dog 366 

Shield budding 574 

f'hortening-in 5S0 

Short-horned cattle 330 

Short-wooled sheep 346 

Shrubs and Trees, Ornamental. 

Kxtirpating 29' 

Ornamental, culture and varieties 601 

Monthly Calendar of Operations^ 507 



120 



INDEX. 



Grafting, budding, pruning, train- 



in" 



564 



Diseases 599 

Insects injurious to 650 

Siamese swine 355 

Siberian fowls 392 

Siile grafting 670 

Silk Worms and Mulberry Trees. 

Description of the silk-worm, and of 

the mode of propagation 467 

Cocoonery 459 

Spinning and reeling the silk 459 

Casualties 460 

The Bombyx Cynthia 400 

The Gaturnia Ceanotha 460 

Silky fowls 392 

Silver Firs 501 

Sit-fasts in animals 379 

Sitting of hens 396 

turkeys 399 

Skim-milk cheese 247 

Skip-jack beetle 644 

Skirret 206 

Small ermine-moth 656 

Smearing 342 

Smut disease 75 

" description, causes and phenomena. 625 

" preventives 630 

Snow-ball bush 501 

Snow berry 496 

Soiling 156 

Soils, their Nature and Treatment. 

General remarks, composition... 23 

Classification, clayey, gravelly, sandy, 

peaty 24 

Loam 2o 

Analysis of. 25 

Kelation between the soil and subsoil. 25 

Clayey subsoil 25 

Porous subsoil, quality of subsoil, 
depth of the soil, means of iucreji.s- 
ing productive powers and rendering 
fit for cultivation, altering the pro- 
portion of ingredients 20 

Clearing. 

J^lan of operations, forests. 2S 

Waste lands 29 

Paring and burning, leveling uneven 

surfaces 32 

Removing stones 34 

Pluii^hing. 

Kules for 35 

How to hold the plough, construction 

of plough , 36 

Depth of ploughing, ridges 37 

Gathering, c;isting 39 

Cleaving, cross-ploughing 42 

Subsoil 43 

Fallow 44 

Earrowing. 

Uses and modes 46 

Soiling. 

Uses 47 

Manuring. 

Action of manures, natural manures. 49 

Urine 50 

Night-soil, management of manures... 61 

Forming composts, litter 5'i 

Applying liquid manure, dead bodies, 

Ixines, etc 54 

Vegetable and mineral manures 55 



Draining. 

Causes of wetness in lands 56 

Boggy lands, and the true line of the 

spring 67 

Drains and peat Ian d.s 59 

Hard soil.s, direction of drains 60 

Clay land 61 

Varieties of drains 62 

Irrigating. 

Channels 63 

Kind of soils for the purpose, waters 

best adapted, meadow watering 64 

Preimring the surface 65 

Time to operate 66 

Soils for Grains, Grasses, Vegetables,Fruit6, 
etc. (see each kind under its head). 

Sore-shin (in cotton) 634 

Sore teats in cows 380 

Sorgho 110 

South-Down sheep 347 

Sowing (see each plant under its head). 

.Spades and shovels 27 

Spanish fowls 391 

Spavin, bog and bone 369 

Spice-bush 501 

Spider fly 639 

Spiderwort 496 

Spinach 206 

Spirea 501 

Splint in animals 880 

Sprain of round-bone in animals 379 

Spring beetle 644 

Spring stock of bees 340 

Spring and Winter Apples. 

American Golden Russet. 261 

Baldwin 258 

Blue Pearmain 261 

Burlington Greening 260 

Danvers Winter Sweeting, Detroit 261 

Ksopus Spitzenberg 258 

Fort.Miama, Gloria Mundi 261 

Golden Pippin 260 

Golden Keinette, Hollow Crown Pear- 
main 261 

Hubbardston Nonsuch 2.i8 

Jersey ^^^ 

Jonathan, King 261 

Lady 260 

Ladies' Sweeting, Leicester Sweeting, 
Little Pearmain, Minister, Neverfail. 261 

Newtown Pippin. 259 

Northern Spy, Norton's Melon, Old 

Nonsuch 261 

Pecker 258 

Peck's Pleasant, Prior's Red, Raule's 

Janette 261 

Rhode Island Greening 260 

RockrimmoD 261 

Roxbury Russet 259 

Steele's Red Winter 258 

Swaar, Tewksberry Winter-Blush, Tol- 
man Sweeting, Vandevere, Waxen.. 261 

Westfield Seek-no-further 258 

Wood's Greening 261 

Springs, ascertaining the line of, etc 57 

Spruce trees 501 

Spurring-in 458,470 

Squa.sh.! 207 

Stable. 

Site, light and air 531 

Stalls, racks, mangers : 532 



INDEX. 



721 



stack-yard 539 

StajCKcrs 368 

Staling in horses 380 

Stalls 532 

Stciiniing food for aDimals 549 

Steers (see Cattle). 

Steiu-boring weeril 659 

Sties for swiue 541 

Stifie lami'Duss in horses 380 

Stilton cheese 243 

Stoncless barberry 266 

'■ medlar 2S3 

Stones, removing 34 

Stranjjles in animals 380 

Straw 74 

Strawberry. 

Propagation, culture 304 

Soils, situation 305 

Forcing 305 

Varieties, — Ui.shop's Orange 309 

Black Imperial, Black Prince 307 

Boston I'ine, British Queen 309 

Cushing 30R 

Downton 309 

Duke of Kent 306 

Elton 309 

Ilovey's Seedling 307 

Hudson's Bay 309 

Large Early S<-arIet 306 

Methven Scarlet. Myatt's Pine 3o9 

Prolific Ilautbois, 'ited Wood, Ross 

Phoenix, Swainstone's Seedling .307 

White Alpine. White Wood 309 

Monthly Calendar of Operations 313 

Strawberry tree 496 

Straw hive 426 

Striped-fruited currant 274 

Stumps and trees, how e.xtracted 31 

Sturdy in animals 381 

Subsoil. 

Kelation between soil and, clayey 25 

Porous, quality,depth 26 

Ploughing 43 

Suckering corn 90 

Suffolk Anim.^ls. 

Cattle 335 

Swine .'.■" 355 

„ "t>'-s«s 362 

SCQAR-BEKT. 

Soil, culture, manufacture of sugar, 
cleansing the roots, rasping 101 

Pressing the pulp, defecation, evapora- 
tion, clarifying ...102 

Concentration " ]03 

Proportions of lime used ...'.'.... 104 

8nOAR-CANE. 

Description IO4 

Varieties, soil, planting, and rattoon- 

„'"S. •• 105 

Secunng the crop, cru.shing the cane, 

testing the juice 106 

Defecation, clarifying " .".." 107 

Kvaporators, coolers, purging, clayed 

„8.''e'i" ^ 108 

Boiling by steam, boiling in vacuo, 

y'^¥-, 109 

l^hemical compounds ^ 110 

Sugar-cane, Chinese .!.....'.'."!! 110 

" ■' Africua II4 

SOOAR-MAPLE. 

Tapping the trees 601 

Gl 



Boiling the sap 502 

Clarifying 502 

Claying 503 

Molasses and vinegar 503 

SOMACH. 

Varieties, soil, climate, cultivation, pre- 
paration for market, uses 175 

SuMMKR Apples. 

American Summer Pearmain, Benoni, 
Cole 254 

Karly Harvest 251 

Karly Red Alargarct. Karly Straw- 
berry, Juneating, .Manoniet Sweet- 
ing 254 

Kcii Astrachan 251 

Bed Quarrenden. Sapson, Spice Sweet, 
Summer Queen, Summer Kose, 
Tucker 254 

William.s' Favorite 263 

SUNFI.OWKR. 

Description 180 

Soil and culture, uses 181 

Surfeit in animals 380 

Su.ssex cattle 335 

Swarming of Beks. 

Time, indications 441 

To prevent 442 

To secure a swarm that has settled, 

effects of swarming 443 

To avoid, in the case of collateral 

boxes 444 

Swedish turnip 208 

Sweet-bay plant 49" 

" marjoram 213 

" pea 494 

" William 497 

Sweet Potato. 

Description, varieties, soil, culture 99 

Pre.servation of crop, and propagation 

from old vines 100 

Swelled legs in animals 380 

Swine. 

Bleeding, rearing, treatment of dam 

and young 349 

Ca.strating, weaning, treatment after 
weaning, food, disposition of the 

carcass 350 

Anatomy 352 

Varieties — China 352 

Berkshire 353 

Suffolk, Woburn, Siamese 355 

Diseases 307 

Insects injurious to 638 

Monthly Calendar of Operations 38] 

Piggeries — site, plan of construction, 

&c 5.=)0 

Syringa plant 496 

T. 

Tables useful to the Farmer. 

Table 1. — For reducingyards into acres, 
roods, and perches 683-085 

Table IT. — Kxhibiting the number of 
plants which may be raised on a 
perch of land at different distances. 686 

Table III. — Kxhibiting the number of 
plants which may be raised on an 
acre of land at different distances ... 686 

Table IV. — Rotations practised in 
Penn.sy Ivania 6M 

2v 



t2a 



INDEX. 



Table v. — For determining the weight 

of cattle by measurement 

Table VI. — Mixtures of grass seed re- 
commended for pastures, lawns, 
mowing-grounds, &c., on different 
kinds of soils, and the quantity to be 
sown on each acre, together with the 
weight per bushel of each kind of 

seed. &c., &c 

Table VII. — Exhibiting the distance 
ordinarily travelled by a horse in 
ploughing one acre of land, together 
with the quantity of land worked 
during a day 9 hours long, supposing 
the horse to travel at the rate of 16 
and 18 miles per day respectively ... 
Table VIII. — Live and dead weight of 

cattle 

Table IX. — Showing how much ma- 
nure will be necessary for an acre of 
ground, supposing the heaps to be 
of certain sizes, and deposited at 

definite distances 

Table X. — The results of observations 
on the reprod ucti ve powers of domes- 
tic birds and animals 

Table XI. — The proportion of inorganic 
substances contained in several of 
the most commonly cultivated escu- 
lents 

Table XII.— The proportion of inorga- 
nic substances contained in the re- 
fuse of the most commonly cultivated 

esculents 

Table XIII. — The proportion of several 
elementary substances contained in 
100 parts of .some of the most com- 
monly cultivated esculents 

Table XIV. — The proportion of several 
elementary substances contained in 
the produce of one acre, planted with 
the esculents most commonly culti- 
vated as food for stock 

Tansy 

Tapping or driving hives 

Tare. 

Description, soil, time of sowing 

Tartar sheep 

Tea plant. 

Remarks on 

Varieties and description, soil and cli- 
mate, culture 

Manipulation of the leaves 

Teasel. 

Description, varieties, soil and culture, 

gathering the crop 

Saving the seed, use, value of the 

crop 

Teats, sore 

Tender annual flowers 

Terrier tlog 

Thermometer churn 

Thick wind in animals 

Thinning corn 

Thoroush-pin in horses 

Threshing 

Thrush in animals 

Thyme 

Ticks or lice 380, 

Tiger lily 



Tillage. — (See each plant under its head, 
also Soils.) 

Tillinghast's churn 224 

Tobacco plant. 

De.scription, varieties 122 

Rai.sing the plants, soil and climate ... 123 
Mode of culture, topping and priming, 124 
Suckering and worming, cutting and 

housing 125 

Curing, stripping and prising 126 

Nicotine extracted from 127 

Tomato 207 

Torsion in animals 320 

Toulouse goose 400 

Trailing blackberry 267 

Training. 

Uses, principles 586 

Manual operations 587 

Training herb,iceotis and shrubby 
plants in pots, training hardy llower- 
mg shrubs in the open ground, train- 
ing fruit-trees 588 

Different modes of training bushes 
and trees in the open ground, and 
fruit-trees against walls or espa- 
liers 590 

Training dwarfs in the open garden, 

spiral cylinders 591 

Spurring-in 592 

Conical standards 593 

Fan training 594 

Horizontal training 596 

Perpendicular training, comparative 
view of the different modes of train- 
ing 597 

Tread in animals 373 

Tbkes and Shrubs, Ornamental and 
Useful. 

Extraction of 31 

Ornamental Shrubs. 

Soil, seasons, and modes 497 

After-management, situation, and ar- 
rangement 499 

Varieties — Azalea. Calycanthus, Car- 
olina Syringa. Double flowering 
Almond, Dwarf White flowering 
Horse-chestnut, Hawthorn, Honey- 
suckle, Japan Sophora, Juniper, 
Lilac, Mountain Laurel, Mountain 
Rose, Primrose, Rose Acacia. Rose of 
Sharon. Scarlet flowering Chestnut, 
Snowball, Spice bush, Spirea, Straw- 
berry tree 601 

Ornamental and Useful Trees. 
Abele, Ailanthus, Ash, Basswood Elm, 
Horse-chestnut, Linden. Locust, 
Rock Maple, Sugar Maple, Tulip tree. 

Willow 601 

American Silver Fir 504 

" White Spruce 504 

Box 503 

Clu.ster Pine 603 

European Silver Fir 604 

Evergreen Cypress 505 

Hemlock 506 

Larch Pine 604 

Magnolia grandiflora 503 

Norway Spruce Fir 606 

Scotch'Pine 804 

SpruceFir 608 



INDEX. 



ns 



Culture ~ 500 

Yarieties 501 

Monthly Calendar of Operations 507 

Grafting, budding, pruning, training.. 564 

Diseases 599 

Insects injurious to 650 

Tulip 496 

•> tree 601 

I'URKEV. 

Varieties 397 

Keeping, qualities 398 

Laying, sitting, hatching 399 

Treatment of the young, fattening, 

feeding 400 

Diseases 412 

IH,11N1P. 

Varieties and culture 207 

Swedish or ruta-baga 208 

Enemies, uses 209 

Fly 645 

Tarnsick in sbeep 380 

Twelve-spotted leaf beetle &14 



Ulcers in animals 3S1 

•' " fowls 415 

Uredo 609 

Urine for soils 60 

Utensils, farming. — (See each kind under 
its head.) 



Vegetable manures 66 

Vegetables 1S4 

(See Kitchen-garden; also each kind 
uader its head.) 

Ventilation of bee-hives 452 

'• '• stables 531 

Vine 276 

" diseases 699 

" insects injurious to 650, 668 

Vineyards. 

Cullureof 279 

Pressing the grapes, making wine 280 

Making Champagne wine 281 

Constituents of wine 282 

Violet 497 

w. 

Walls, stone 553 

Walnut 313 

Warlpies in animals 379,381,637 

Warts In animals , 381 

Washing butter 230 

Waste lands, clearing 29 

Water-oiiannels .. 0.3 

Water-in-the-head in sheep Zlh 

Water-melon 283 

\\ atering flax 142 

" meadows t)4 

Waters best adapted for irrigating 64 

Wax — obtaining and preparing 4.'53 

tor budding ,■ 574 

Weaning sheep 34O 

" swine 3o0 

" horses 356 

Wedge grafting 571 



Weeks' bee-hive 431 

Weevils, destructive. — (See Insects.) 
Weld. 

Description 170 

Soil and culture, gathering the crop, 

value 171 

Saving the seed, uses 172 

AVestpbalia hams 352 

Wetue.ss iu lands » 56 

Whkat. 

Classification 69 

Best varieties for cultivation 71 

Soils, time for sowing seed, culture, 

quantity of seed, atier-culture 73 

Cutting and harvesting 74 

Diseases and enemies 75, 599 

Insects injurious to 639 

Whey, green 236 

While lily 492 

" mulberry 461 

Whole-milk butter 228 

" cheese 235 

Whortleberry 313 

Wild cherry 270 

Willow tree 501 

Wind-broken 368 

Wind-mill 163 

Wine. — (See Vineyards.) 
Winter and Spring Apples. 

American Golden Russet 261 

Baldwin 258 

Blue Pearmain 261 

Burlington Greening 260 

Uanvers Winter Sweeting 261 

Detroit 261 

Esopus Spitzeuberg 258 

Fort Miami 261 

Gloria Mundi 261 

Golden Pippin 260 

Golden Kei'nette 261 

Hollow Crown Pearmain 261 

Hubbardston Nonsuch 258 

Jersey 260 

Jonathan 261 

King 261 

Lady 260 

l^adies' Sweeting 261 

Leicester Sweeting 261 

Little Pearmain 261 

Minister 261 

Neverfuil 261 

Newtown Pippin 259 

Northern Spy 26 

Norton's Melon 261 

Old Nonsuch 261 

Pecker 268 

Peck's Plea.sant 261 

Prior's Red 261 

Raule's Janette 261 

Rhode Island Greening 260 

Kockrimmon 2til 

Koxbury Russet 259 

Stei-le's Red Winter 258 

Swaar 261 

Tewksbury Winter-blush 261 

'I'oUnan Sweeting 201 

Vandevere 261 

Waxen 261 

Westfield Seek-no-furtber 258 

Wood's Greening 261 



724 



INDEX. 



I 



Winter ftall-feeding 338 

Wire-worm 76,610 

WOAD. 

Description, soil, preparation of the 
soil, and culture of the plant 172 

Gathering, preparation of the dye, 

saving the seed, uses 173 

Woburn swine 355 

Womb inflammation in animals 381 

Wood leopard-moth 655 

Wool, ami its characteristics 344 

Wool-shearing 340 

Working bee 417 

" cattle 329 



Worms and grubs 70 

" in animals 381 

(See Insects.) 
Wounds of animals 381 

y. 

Yellow rose 490 

Yellow-tailed moth 651 

Yellows in animals 375 

z. 

Zizyphus lycoides 66] 



TDB EITD. 



